The Good Life
by timeaftertime09
Summary: Filling in the gaps of what happened after Betty got off the phone from accepting the job in London, as well as what happened after Daniel followed her and asked her to dinner. Rating just in case.
1. Chapter 1

As he waited for Betty to come back, Daniel sat at their table watching everyone on the dance floor enjoy themselves. They all looked so happy, and he realized that so was he. He and Betty had made up, and everything else seemed small in comparison. He had his friend back and they both had their lives ahead of them – together.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder, bringing him out of his trance.

"Hey," Hilda said. "I just wanted to say 'thank you'."

"For what?" Daniel asked, puzzled.

"For bein' so good to my baby sister," she explained.

"Hilda, we're not -" he tried to clarify.

"I know, I know. You're 'just friends'. I get that all the time from Betty, too. But you make her happier than I've seen her with any other guy. And when you guys fight – it's like full-on Armageddon. It was the same way with Bobby and me," Hilda pointed out. "I saw you guys out there tonight. Those looks you were givin' each other weren't 'friend' looks."

"Hilda -" Daniel attempted to object.

"All I'm sayin' is you two shouldn't let the fact that you're scared to admit how you really feel about each other screw up what could be the greatest freakin' thing that's ever happened to you. _I_ almost did – and look what I would've missed," she advised. "Just think about it, before you let her get away again."

She pecked him on the cheek and left.

Did Hilda know about what happened with Henry? Was that why she said what she did? She was almost as bad as Betty for getting into his head - must run in the family. He didn't think she was right, though. He could now admit that he genuinely loved Betty and would do anything to protect her, but was it really a romantic love? He definitely didn't want to see her back with any of her exes. And it was now difficult to picture her with a new guy – he didn't want to see her get hurt again. He wanted her to be happy.

Even if it _was_ romantic – which he doubted - being anything more than friends would be a mistake, wouldn't it? It could ruin what they had – especially if she didn't feel the same.

She was his friend – the naïve, insecure, sunshine-spreading, poncho-wearing, glass-slamming girl who crashed into his world four years ago. Only she had changed. She still spread sunshine, lighting up any room she walked into. However, she had transformed before his eyes into this incredible, confident, ambitious, surprisingly fashionable woman who constantly kept him on his toes, and made him want to exceed his potential. She was the only one he fully trusted working with. Plus, he knew he could confide in her on a personal level and she'd always be there for him no matter what. Then there was the moment that afternoon when she'd stepped out of that limo, he'd had to stop himself from drooling she'd looked so amazing.

Maybe she _was_ what he wanted in a relationship. Maybe he wanted _her_. What the hell was he saying? This was _Betty_. He couldn't possibly allow himself to go down that path. _It was crazy!_ Or could he? Maybe taking it slow and letting what happened, happen was the best plan.

Betty entered the room and slowly walked toward him as Justin Nozuka's "After Tonight" played in the background. Daniel noticed her and they met halfway. Something was different in her eyes; she was happier. And yet when she caught his, that happiness appeared to fade. Betty wrapped her arms around him and held him tight.

"What's this for?" he asked, surprised.

"Nothing . . . I'm just glad you're here," Betty excused.

"Me, too," Daniel said.

"Daniel?" Betty looked up at him.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Will you promise me something?" she asked, timidly.

"Anything," he swore.

"That we'll always be there for each other – no matter what happens?" she requested, tears forming in her eyes.

"Always," he vowed, catching a tear that rolled down her cheek. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine . . . just feeling a little emotional with the wedding, that's all," Betty evaded the whole truth and rested her head against his chest as they continued to slowly sway back and forth to the music.

Daniel wasn't sure whether to believe her or not, but let it go. He could tell it had been a long day for her. He kissed the top of her head and sighed contentedly knowing whatever it was, they'd get through it together.

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After the reception was over, Daniel was prepared to take Betty home. However, she asked if they could go to the karaoke pizza place they ate at one time years before. He knew she hadn't had the chance to eat much at the wedding since she'd had to mingle with all of her extended family. But he thought it was strange that she'd want to go there of all places.

"'Bust A Move' is definitely your jam!" Betty giggled uncontrollably as they walked arm-in-arm out of the restaurant.

"Hey!" Daniel protested.

"I can't help it - you were hilarious!" she snickered, leaning into him as they walked.

"What about your version of 'Hit Me Baby, One More Time'?" he snorted.

"What was wrong with it?" she asked, innocently.

"Smacking your ass every time the chorus said 'hit me' and practically doing a lap dance on that 60 year-old truck driver?" he laughed. "I'm surprised they didn't kick us out of there."

Betty playfully shoved him.

"I would've given _you_ a _real_ one, if you hadn't stopped me . . ." she flirted, placing her faux fur wrap around his neck.

" _I know!_ I just didn't want you to do something else you'd really regret - like flashing Gio," he excused.

"I wouldn't have regretted it with _you_ ," she gave him a sexy smile.

" _You_ are _insanely_ promiscuous when you're drunk!" he sighed, trying to fight the fact that he was turned on by it. He pried the wrap from her hands and took it off of his neck, giving it back to her.

"I don't know – after my second beer I felt so uninhibited!" she loosened her hair, threw out her arms, and spun around.

Daniel had to catch her as she lost her balance.

"You know, you keep talking about _me_ , but _I_ have video footage of _you_ literally busting a move," she threatened with a teasing, drunken smile.

"Betty, you wouldn't!" Daniel's eyes widened.

"Relax. Just remember I have it for keeps . . ." she jokingly warned.

Daniel shook his head.

"We _did_ kill it with 'No Air'," he grinned.

"True – almost as good as 'I Got You Babe'," she said.

"Yeah, that _was_ fun. What made you remember that place, anyway?" he wondered.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Just didn't feel like going home, yet. What time is it, anyway?"

"3:24am," he said, looking at his phone.

"Wow!" she exclaimed and giggled.

"Yeah," he said.

"I hope Amanda and Marc don't catch us coming in . . ." she said in a sing-song voice.

"They won't," Daniel assured her. "You're staying with me."

"Really? Daniel, are you sure?" Betty timidly asked.

"Positive. Believe me – a lot less questions will be asked if you come home tomorrow than tonight - especially with as many drinks as you've had. They'll just assume you stayed with your dad." Daniel said.

"Good thinking!" she said and stumbled a little. " _Oh my god_ – is the ground tilting? If I have to take another step, I think I'm gonna keel over."

"Here. Let me call my driver," Daniel offered. "It's too far to walk all the way home, anyway."

" _Aww . . ._ you're so sweet," she cooed, then hiccupped.

He smiled; she was extremely adorable when she was drunk.

As they rode home, Betty fell asleep on his shoulder. She was so beautiful and so peaceful that he hated to wake her. He carried her into his apartment and woke her enough to get her to change into one of his baggy college t-shirts and a pair of shorts that were almost pants on her. He tucked her in his bed and dared to kiss her forehead, thinking she had already fallen back asleep. However, he heard her calling to him when he turned to leave.

"Daniel?" she asked.

"Yeah?" he responded.

"Where are you going?" she wondered.

"To sleep on the couch," Daniel innocently stated.

"I took your bed . . . now I feel bad . . ." she groaned.

"Betty, don't worry about it," he assured her.

"No – stay," Betty requested. "Please?"

Daniel knew it was probably the liquor talking or what Hilda had said, or maybe a little of both, but he relented. It was a big bed, after all, and they were only sleeping – nothing more. Plus, he was so sore from all the dancing. He climbed into the other side and closed his eyes.

"Goodnight, Betty," he said, lying on his back.

"'Nite, Daniel," she replied, snuggling close to him, her head and hand on his chest.

So much for sleeping . . .


	2. Chapter 2

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Betty slowly opened her eyes and found herself tangled up with a man in a black t-shirt. What the hell happened last night? And why was her head pounding like a jackhammer? She looked up and saw it was Daniel. The wedding . . . the champagne . . . the wine . . . the karaoke . . . the beer . . . Oh god . . . He must think . . . she didn't know what he thought . . . she laid her head back down and closed her eyes when he spoke.

"Hey, you awake?" he quietly asked.

"Barely . . . Can you not talk so loud? And why is it so bright?" she groaned.

"It's morning – can't help it. But let me get you something for the pain," he whispered.

"How did you know?" she asked, carefully sitting up and untangling her legs from his.

"Because I've been there," he replied, gently rubbing her arm.

"And this . . . right here . . . how did we end up . . . you know?" Betty asked.

"Oh, we didn't do _that_ – you just felt bad for kicking me out of my own bed," Daniel immediately assured her.

"I know. I trust you, Daniel," she said. "Besides, that would be a little weird to even think about, right?"

Daniel felt a strange sinking in his stomach.

"Right," he covered. "Let me go get you my famous hangover remedy."

"I'll take anything right now," she said, desperately.

He came back a few minutes later with two aspirin, a bagel, and a mimosa.

"Mmmmm . . . I _love_ you," she hugged him. "If this works as good as you claim it does, I'll do anything you want."

A dirty thought peculiarly slipped into his mind. What was going on with him?

"This one's on me," he smiled.

They sat quietly on his bed while Betty tested his cure and hoped for the best. After a while Daniel thought it was safe to have a normal conversation.

"You got anything planned for today?" he asked.

"I don't think so. You?" Betty asked.

"Totally free. You wanna grab lunch and a movie? Or we could stay here if you're not up to it?" Daniel proposed.

"You sure you're not tired of me after yesterday?" she teased.

"Never," he smiled, sexily.

"I think I vaguely remember drunken karaoke and Amanda trying to teach Marc how to Dougie," she laughed.

Daniel shook his head.

"I think I tried to erase all of that from my head – especially the latter," he joked.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Noon," he answered, glancing at the alarm clock.

"I need to go back to my place and change first. Then maybe we can grab lunch and – Oh crap! I forgot!" she exclaimed, rushing out of the bed to find her dress.

"What?" he asked.

"I promised Hilda I'd help her and Bobby open and organize their gifts so it'll be easier for them to write 'thank you' notes when they get back from their honeymoon," she explained.

"Oh. Could I help?" Daniel offered.

"It'll be pretty boring," Betty warned. "You've probably got other stuff you'd rather do."

"I could use 'boring', for a change – especially after the wild night we had!" he flirted.

Betty's eyes widened and her face turned beet red.

"D-Daniel, you told me nothing h-happened . . ." she stuttered.

"Well not 'nothing'," he said seriously. "You _did_ hold me through the night."

Betty looked horrified for a minute then realized he meant it in the literal sense as he started to snicker.

" _Daniel!_ " she berated. "You had me thinking that we -"

"I'm sorry! You're just so cute when you're mortified," he excused.

Betty immediately picked up a pillow and started hitting him with it. They wrestled with each other until Daniel finally surrendered.

"Damn! I should've listened to you when you said never to mess with a girl from Queens," he teased.

"Hey, I warned you," she smirked, staring into his eyes.

He stared back and for a moment they forgot everything else. Betty finally snapped out of it.

"So are you coming?" she asked, getting off of him and picking up her dress again.

"Yeah," he answered.

"K. Get dressed – Hilda's gonna be really pissed if I'm late. She's got everything scheduled so they still have time to pack before tomorrow," she said, heading into his bathroom.

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"Hey, Mamita! It's about time you got here! What, did you and Daniel have a late night together?" Hilda teased.

Daniel came up behind Betty.

"Daniel! Hey! It's so great of you to come!" she choked, inviting them in.

They all went inside the house. Hilda pulled Betty back.

"You are telling me _everything_ , later!" she demanded. "And I mean details, sista!"

Betty opened her mouth to speak when Hilda started talking with the boys.

"Where are Justin and your dad?" Daniel asked.

"Oh. Justin and Austin went to a movie. And Papi's having lunch with Elena," she answered.

Daniel nodded.

"So Daniel, you had any time to shoot hoops lately?" Bobby asked. "Justin says you're pretty good."

"Not lately. You?" he answered.

"Nah. The Missus, here, had me doing a bunch of crap for the wedding. You wanna go, now?" Bobby suggested.

"Hey! Wait a minute, Mister! You are not goin' _anywhere!_ " Hilda protested.

"Hilda, maybe you should let them go. We'll probably get everything done a whole lot faster this way, right?" Betty attempted to save the boys from an afternoon of boredom.

"Hunh uh. No way. My husband is stayin' 'cause these are his gifts, too," Hilda insisted. "Now Daniel, you can go if you want. You're still a free man – at least I _think_ you're still a free man."

Daniel struggled to form an answer. Betty, however, put an end to the awkward moment.

"Hey – guys, why don't you go pick us up some lunch?" she suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds good, Chipmunk," Bobby replied, and briefly kissed Hilda on the lips. "C'mon, Dan. Let's give these gorgeous ladies time to bitch about us."

Hilda pulled him back for a minute to talk privately.

Daniel looked at Betty to say "thanks". She smiled back.

"Tacos?" she suggested.

"One crunchy beef, one soft chicken, guac, salsa, sour cream, queso, chips, and rice on the side?" he listed her favorite order.

"You remembered?" she said, surprised.

"You get it _every_ Taco Tuesday," he pointed out.

She looked down at the floor, embarrassed.

"I hate how you know me," she blushed.

He grinned and briefly took her hand.

"Be back soon. Good luck with Hilda," he said, and turned to leave.

"You ready, man?" Bobby asked after he was done talking with Hilda.

"Chipmunk?" Daniel questioned.

"Yeah, I'll tell you 'bout it on the way," Bobby answered as they went out the door.

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"So what is the deal with you two?!" Hilda cut right to the point.

"Nothing! We're just friends – same as always. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?" Betty insisted.

"Yeah, well your 'just friend' just followed you all the way over here for a snoozefest of sortin' wedding gifts. That doesn't seem like somethin' any guy would beg to do, chica - especially not a guy who's got a ton of money and endless possibilities for a good time. Did you blackmail him or something?" she wondered.

"No . . . he actually offered to come. I even warned him," Betty told her.

" _Ay_. . . _he's falling for you_ ," Hilda observed in a sing-song tone.

"What?! _No!_ " Betty denied.

Her sister had always been a hopeless romantic, but that was the furthest thing for her and Daniel. He was her friend, and they were close. That was all. Besides, she was moving to London. It wasn't exactly the best time to go looking for a new relationship with anyone, right now.

"Or _yes . . ._ " her sister argued. "You two looked pretty cozy at the reception. Anything happen after?"

"No . . . Yes – No . . ." Betty wavered.

"Ah – I knew it!" Hilda exclaimed. "Spill. Now!"

"Well, we went to this pizza place that also has karaoke – the one we went to a few years ago. And – _oh my god_ – _it's all coming back to me now . . ._ I practically did a lap dance on an old guy and then Daniel had to stop me from doing one on him . . . And when he brought up me flashing Gio the last time I was drunk, I told him I wouldn't have minded flashing _him_ . . . No wonder he joked this morning that he tried to forget what happened!" Betty groaned, embarrassed beyond belief.

"Honey, you gotta stop drinkin' so much around guys you know," Hilda advised.

"Hey – that thing with Gio was an accident! I had no idea he wasn't a random stranger!" Betty insisted. "Besides, it's Daniel I'm worried about. I don't have to look Gio in the eye every day."

Maybe moving to London really _was_ a good thing - only it wouldn't help her for the next month . . .

"It'll be okay, chica. Daniel didn't seem to be that bothered by it. He volunteered to follow you here, didn't he?" Hilda pointed out. "Plus, it's not like you _actually_ flashed him or did a lap dance for him. And even if you had, somethin' tells me he wouldn't have minded . . ."

"Hilda, you're delusional," Betty scoffed. "He stopped me. Doesn't that prove something to you?"

"Yeah. That he was tryin' to protect you from doin' somethin' stupid that you'd gain 20 pounds over later. You already feel bad enough and you didn't even do anything except express a desire to do those things - which, in my opinion clearly screams that on a subconscious level you're attracted to him," Hilda observed.

"Thank you, Dr. Phil," Betty rolled her eyes, sarcastically.

"Anyway, my point is that Daniel's a stand-up guy – he wouldn't take advantage of you or let you embarrass yourself," Hilda told her.

"You're right, I guess," Betty conceded.

"Damn straight I am!" her sister teased. "So what happened after that?"

"It was after 3am and we didn't want Marc or Amanda catching us coming in so late, so Daniel offered to let me stay with him," Betty explained.

"Oh my god – _you guys did it!_ Ay! Chica, this is so _great!_ " her sister celebrated.

" _No we did not!_ " Betty insisted. "Just because I slept over didn't mean I _slept_ over. And you just got through saying what a stand-up guy Daniel was. Do you honestly think that would happen?"

"So I let my wishful thinkin' get the best of me," Hilda shrugged. "Keep talkin'."

"Anyway, I had had way too much to drink and fell asleep in the car. The next thing I knew, I woke up in one of his t-shirts and some shorts, tangled up in a fully clothed and trustworthy man," Betty finished.

"Tangled up?" Hilda repeated.

"Yeah, I know. I still haven't figured _that_ one out yet," Betty shrugged.

"I think _I_ can . . ." Hilda teased.

" _Hilda . . ._ " Betty warned.

"Okay. So you slept together?" she assumed.

"Literally – not figuratively. But technically, yes," Betty confirmed.

"Well, it's not as good as I thought, but still not bad. Did you talk to him about it?" Hilda inquired.

"There's not much to say, Hilda. I was drunk, he let me sleep in his bed, I insisted he stay," Betty recalled.

"Hold on – you _what?!_ " Hilda freaked out. "I thought you two were just too drunk and fell asleep. But he offered to sleep somewhere else and you asked him to stay with you? Way to go, mamita!"

"Hilda! I was drunk and feeling all nostalgic and I didn't want to be alone. There was nothing sexual about it – trust me!" Betty swore.

"Maybe not for you, but how does Daniel feel? Think about it," Hilda advised.

"We're friends – and he's still technically my boss - we'd never go there," she repeated. "And I'm sure my drunken state last night repulsed him, anyway."

" _Stop!_ Now be serious - would _you_ want to go there?" Hilda questioned.

"No! It's Daniel - _my_ Daniel," Betty immediately dismissed the thought. "I love him, I _really_ do . . . but goofy, flakey, needy, annoying, immature, too-lazy-to-think, impulsive Daniel?"

"You mean Daniel, who totally admires and adores you and would do anything in the world for you? Daniel, who you totally admire and adore and would do anything in the world for? Daniel, who has turned his life around because of you? Daniel who is no longer so shallow and self-centered? Daniel, who now obviously wants a serious relationship? Daniel, who's kind, caring, super sexy, and rich to boot – not to mention, totally into you?!" Hilda finished for her.

"Okay, okay I get it! And I can admit all of those things are true – except the last one. Which is fine because that would just be weird," she remarked, although she wasn't entirely sure whether she was lying to herself or not. "Why are you making me obsess over something that's never going to happen and probably shouldn't?"

"'Cause things _do_ happen, chica. Take me and Bobby, for instance," her sister pointed out.

"You guys are different," Betty disagreed.

"Not _that_ different. Take away the fame and the fortune and Daniel's just a man and you're a woman and you're best friends like Bobby and me. I'm not sayin' it _will_ happen, but don't be surprised if it does," Hilda insisted as the guys came back with the food.

Bobby went into the kitchen to help Hilda with the plates and drinks.

"Hey, Chipmunk!" Daniel greeted Betty.

" _Don't_ do that," Betty playfully warned.

"How about Jeanette? You know, the pretty, brainy one?" his eyes danced.

"And you're Alvin - the bad boy who's so full of himself?" Betty played along. "No. Nooo . . . No."

"But then when you get mad at me you could always yell ' _Aaaalllllllvvviiinnnn!'_ You know, instead of ' _Daniel . . ._ '" he mocked in fun.

" _Daniel . . ._ " she protested.

"See – there it is! I love it – don't get me wrong. But you could have an option now. One for when you're just annoyed, and another for when you're really pissed and get that cute little crinkle above your nose," he flirted.

"Are you high?" Betty asked, only half-joking.

"No – just having a little fun. You know, you turned down Tornado Girl and Dora the Explorer. Now this, too? I'm beginning to think you don't want a nickname," he feigned disappointment.

"And that's why you know me," she smirked.

Bobby walked into the dining room with the plates.

"Thank you, brother-in-law, for creating a monster," she sarcastically rolled her eyes.

"Hey – I just call 'em like I see 'em. And you've always been my cute little Chipmunk," Bobby excused, pinching her cheek.

"See, now why am _I_ not allowed," Daniel continued to provoke Betty in fun.

Betty gave him a gentle shove.

"Alright, you two – enough flirting. Let's eat!" Hilda said, coming in with the drinks.

"Hilda!" Betty berated.

" _Whaaat?!_ " I just said 'let's eat'. You don't need to get all bitchy about it," she innocently defended.

Betty huffed and found the bag with her tacos.

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"Hey – I just thought of the perfect name for you!" Daniel exclaimed as they closed the door to her dad's house, later that afternoon.

"Ugghh . . . I thought we were done with that?" Betty groaned, sitting on the front steps.

"Hear me out . . ." he gave a crooked smile as he sat down beside her. "Britney – she's a chipmunk _and_ a popstar."

"Shut up!" she lightly smacked him.

"What? I think it's perfect, considering last night's events," his eyes flirtingly danced.

"Um, Daniel . . . I just wanted to apologize for that," Betty timidly began. "I know I made you uncomfortable, and I was too drunk to know what I was doing and I'm sorry."

"Betty . . . Hey, there is no need to apologize. We were just having a good time . . . Are you saying this because I didn't let you give me a lap dance?" he wondered.

She nodded hesitantly.

"Hey, I only stopped you because I didn't want you to do something you couldn't take back in the morning – not because I wasn't a little curious," he confessed.

"You're just saying that," Betty argued.

"I'm really not. How many times do I have to tell you you're beautiful before you'll believe me?" he insisted.

She lowered her head.

He lifted it back up.

"It's the truth," he maintained.

"You were really 'curious'?" Betty asked, skeptically.

"Really. We may be friends, but I'm still a guy," Daniel confirmed with a sexy stare.

Betty couldn't help but smile.

"So. I think we still have time to watch a movie," he proposed.

"Okay," she agreed. "What?"

"I was thinking 'Striptease' or 'Coyote Ugly'," the corners of his mouth twitched as he continued to torment her.

"You're lucky we're in public, right now!" Betty playfully threatened, as kids played and parents yelled across the street.

He chuckled.

"Oh – wait! I think I left my phone. Could you call it for me?" Daniel asked.

Betty got out hers and speed dialed his number. All of a sudden, "Hit Me Baby, One More Time" started playing.

"What the hell . . . .? _Daniel!_ " she figured out his scheme.

"Oh. Turns out it was right here all the time," he innocently shrugged, pulling it out of his pocket.

"You _so_ did that on purpose!" she accused him.

"You're right, I did," he smirked, clearly satisfied with himself.

"No wonder Alexis tortures you all the time. You probably deserve it," Betty retorted, bumping him from the side.

"That was the last one – I promise," Daniel swore.

"Better be . . ." she pouted.

"You still wanna catch a movie, or are you too mad at me?" he asked standing up and holding out his hands as a peace offering.

She reluctantly took them and he pulled her up.

"I'll go. But _you're_ paying - and I want a tub of popcorn with extra butter, pretzels with nacho cheese, Twizzlers, and a jumbo cherry Slushie," Betty bargained, knowing how pricey theater food was.

"Will you a least share some of that with me?" Daniel asked, looking at her with his big blue puppy eyes.

"Only if I don't have to keep dealing with something _annoying_ ," she glared at him, knowing she'd never eat all of that herself.

"You know I'm only messing with you, right?" he assured her.

"Yeah," she smiled, halfheartedly.

"So are we good?" Daniel asked.

"We're good," Betty replied.

He put his arm around her waist as they walked to the town car.

"Maybe we should watch 'Get Smart' instead . . ." she suggested, deviously.

"Clever," he scoffed.

"I thought so," she smirked, getting in the car. "Come on, 86."

"Right behind you, 99," Daniel played along. "Hey . . . what do think?"

"Missed it by _that much_ ," Betty joked, holding her arms out wide.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you for the welcome back! :) I was feeling nostalgic and started watching old episodes and found my old mvids. (I uploaded them to YouTube under brennanluvsbooth if anyone's interested.) Anyway, I hope the cast reunion in June sparks some talk of a TV movie or even a comeback on a network or streaming service. Thank you to everyone who continues to read and review this story! :)_

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It was a month later and Betty's first few days in London were so busy she'd barely had time to think of anything but work. However, when she did have a few moments to herself, Daniel was the only thing on her mind.

"Still thinkin' about your boyfriend?" Gio assumed, coming over to her table at the new branch of his deli.

"He's not my boyfriend," Betty insisted.

"Methinks the lady doth protest too much," he smirked. "I told ya there was only one man for you."

"What?! No you didn't. You meant Henry – didn't you?" Betty recalled.

"I meant _Daniel_. You cut me off before I could finish," Gio corrected her.

"Why would you think that?" she asked.

"C'mon, Suarez. Deny it all you want, but you know you'd walk through fire for that guy – even if it was just to get a bagel. Remember how you dragged me along on that wild goose chase for one of those dumbass high-tech wheelchairs? Or wasted an entire afternoon dodging his nephew's grandparents? Or made sure he didn't find out you were still dating Egg Salad? Every time I saw you it was 'Daniel this' or 'Daniel that'," he remembered.

Betty rolled her eyes.

"And I could tell you were his girl, too – right after he banned me from the building just because you said I was 'buggin' you'. What boss would do that? And why did he care so much about whether you were with Egg Salad or not? I'm surprised you finally had the balls to leave him for London – and that he _let_ you. But maybe someday you two will get your shit together," Gio mused.

"Gio, it wasn't like that. He was my boss, and we were friends," Betty maintained.

"Nope. Still not buyin' it. Like it or not, deep down you know he's your guy – no one else ever stood a chance," he claimed and went back behind the counter to serve a customer.

Betty shook her head. Gio was delusional. And it was obvious that Hilda and Claire had been wrong, too. If Daniel had had any ounce of feeling left for her – friend or otherwise – then why the hell hadn't he returned her calls or texts? Why hadn't he come to her party? Or stopped by her apartment, if he'd wanted to talk privately?

It was over. Those four years they'd spent building a relationship so unique and so special she, herself, couldn't completely define it . . . he'd thrown them all away. And for _what_ \- because she'd be in another country? This was the 21st century. All he had to do was pick up the phone or open up his laptop and she'd always be there for him. And if he really needed her, she'd be on a plane so damn fast he wouldn't have time to blink. Didn't he know how much he meant to her? That she wasn't leaving him, no matter how far apart they were?

 _God_ , she missed him! His voice, his smile, his laugh . . . even the annoying way he teased her or called her five times in the middle of the night because he was too drunk to remember where he'd left the same phone he'd been talking to her on. She missed everything about him – good and bad. She'd give anything just to see or talk to him one last time.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her phone ringing. She put down her coffee and immediately picked it up without even looking.

"Daniel?" she answered, hopefully.

" _Aaaannnhhh!_ Wrong answer! It's the fabulously handsome and fashionably savvy Queen of MODE!" Marc greeted her. "You're talking to the new creative director – suck on _that!_ "

"Marc! That's great – I'm so happy for you!" Betty squealed then quieted as it occurred to her that something was wrong with that picture. "Wait how did this happen? Did Wilhelmina quit or something? She insisted on having both that job and co-EIC with Daniel. What changed?"

"After her coma, she claimed she needed more personal time and that life was too short . . . _blah, blah, blah,_ " he explained. "Who cares?! I'm Queen of MODE!"

"Wow!" Betty said, taking it all in.

"And what's with the greeting? Poor Pinky, don't tell me you're still hung up on Brainless?" Marc questioned.

"If you're asking if I still miss Daniel, then yes," Betty answered.

"Ulcch . . . _Please!_ I never understood the weirdness that was you two - except knowing _nothing_ about fashion and _everything_ about carbs," he dismissed. "But you're sad, and I'm feeling generous, so I guess I can give you a couple of crumbs."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, confused.

"Didn't I tell you already?! The pathetic publishing poseur went packing. Oh, and check your email - your luvah left you a message in a mag. Don't forget to stay off the scones – the last thing London needs is another Big Ben! Byeeee!" he hung up.

"Wait – Marc!" Betty tried to get him back, but it was too late.

Did Daniel really quit MODE? Why? Had Wilhelmina blackmailed him? If that was the case, she needed to go back to New York and help him. She clicked on her email and downloaded the pdf Marc had sent her. Maybe whatever it was would explain more of what had happened. She carefully read and analyzed every word. Seeing a good friend in a different light? Wanting that friend to be more than just a friend? Love? Was Daniel really talking about _her?_ About _them?_ He couldn't, right? Not after the way he'd left things. And what change had he made to keep her in his life? Shutting her out? Frustrated and confused, she closed the screen on her phone and headed back to work.

"Bye, Gio!" she waved.

Not two seconds later, her phone rang again. This time she checked the caller ID.

"You do know that it's Wednesday afternoon here, right? A work day?" she answered, annoyed. She wouldn't stop calling her about Daniel.

"So did the son of a bitch call you yet?" Hilda asked.

"If you're referring to Daniel, then no - for the tenth time in two hours, he hasn't called," Betty replied. "I thought you'd be sleeping. Aren't you and Bobby and Justin going to be busy getting your new apartment ready, today?"

"We are, mamita. I just wanted to check on you," she excused.

"Hilda, I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine. And I promise you will be the first to know _if_ Daniel calls, texts, or whatever - but don't hold your breath. Oh, and Marc just told me he quit MODE," she said.

" _Daniel?_ Wait – what?!" Hilda exclaimed.

"I know!" Betty agreed. "I'm really wondering if Wilhelmina had something to do with it. She just promoted Marc to Creative Director."

"That bitch has always had it out for Daniel. There's no telling what she'd do!" Hilda replied.

"Do you think I should come home? Maybe he's in trouble? If something's happened to him and I didn't at least try to help, I'd never forgive myself," Betty confessed.

"Honey, relax. We don't know what happened yet. And anyways, Daniel's treated you like shit ever since he found out you were leavin'," her sister pointed out. "Until he explains himself, I don't think you should give that man the time of day – much less fly back here to save his sorry ass."

"Normally, I'd agree with you, but Marc sent me something Daniel wrote that makes me feel like I have to forgive him – that is if he's really saying what I think he's saying. I'll tell you about it later. I've gotta call Claire and see if she knows anything! Give my love to -" Betty told her before running into someone.

"Betty?" the man said.

"Oh! Sorry!" she apologized, then raised her head and realized who it was. " _Daniel?!_ W-What are you doing here?"

As her heart skipped a beat, she could already hear Gio saying, "Told ya so, Suarez".

"I had to see you. I called Gio's sandwich shop and he told me where you usually were around this time," he explained.

 _Damn that little weasel . . .!_ Betty silently cursed her friend. He _knew_ Daniel was there and he didn't tell her! Only, she couldn't help but smile with a roll of her eyes. She'd kill him and thank him later.

"What?" Daniel asked, curious of the expression on her face.

"Nothing," Betty covered.

She wanted so badly to throw her arms around Daniel and tell him how much she had missed him. Only her head told her to restrain herself. She was still pissed and hurt. She deserved an explanation, first.

"So . . . why now? Is everything okay?" she asked, as they walked up the steps of the National Gallery. She felt Daniel's hand on her lower back, guiding her the whole way. He was always looking out for her.

"I stepped down from my position at MODE," he answered as they sat down on the landing.

"Did Wilhelmina blackmail you or something, because we can fight this -" she insisted.

Daniel looked at her endearingly.

"No! No, Betty, it's okay. It was my decision," he calmed her down, and began to tell her the details.


	4. Chapter 4

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Nervous didn't begin to describe how Daniel felt. He had arrived to pick Betty up for dinner at her new apartment in London and all he could think about was 'What if this was a mistake?'. What if he was setting himself up for rejection? Sure, he was Daniel Meade, heir to Meade Publications, loved by all women. But in truth, he knew Betty wasn't your typical woman – she was so much more. She was one of the few women who wasn't susceptible to his charm and saw him for who he really was. But could she see him as a man in love – with _her_?

It was the first time they would meet each other since the steps at Trafalgar Square that afternoon, since he'd followed her to London. What happened next could make or break their future together. A part of him kept reminding himself that Betty hadn't seemed mad at him for ignoring all of her calls and texts the past few weeks. She was in fact happy to see him – 'glad' he was there, said she'd 'love' to have him take her to dinner. And the way she'd flirted with him – smiling shyly, toying with her hair, looking at him with those beautiful brown eyes - did she know? Even if she did, there was no way to tell if she reciprocated those feelings - especially since she'd patted him on the back when they'd hugged. Maybe she'd taken the hint when he slid his hand down her arm and briefly grabbed her hand, reminding her that he'd call about their date? That _was_ when she'd offered for _him_ to be _her_ assistant, and even turned her head to smile back at him as she'd walked away.

When he'd called to set up the details, he could hear someone giggling in the background. So apparently it was no secret at work. Betty had seemed nervous - almost as if they were strangers. But then again, he had been nervous too. He still was, and then some. Enough stalling - it was now or never.

Daniel held his breath and knocked on her door.

When Betty opened it, he couldn't find the words to express how beautiful she looked. Of course, she had always been beautiful. Only now she was wearing a black Dior cocktail dress that accentuated how much. Her dark brown hair was still long and wavy, like that afternoon. Her gorgeous chocolate eyes, barely covered by her new clear-framed glasses, seemed to look up at him with confusion.

"Daniel? Is something wrong?" Betty worried.

"No! You look . . . _Amazing_ ," he finally managed, handing her two dozen pink gerbera daisies. He remembered they were her favorite.

"Thank you," she blushed. She noticed Daniel's black Marc Jacobs suit and medium purple Isaac Mizrahi shirt, the first buttons undone. His piercing blue eyes were staring heatedly at her as if she were a naked Victoria Velez. "You look great, too."

They both took another minute to awkwardly gaze at each other before Betty finally invited Daniel inside her apartment.

"Yoga?" Daniel asked, skeptically, noticing the teal mat spread out on the living room floor.

"Yeah," Betty cringed, placing the flowers Daniel had brought her in a vase. "Lindsay's being pushed by the shareholders to have a health and fitness section in the new mag. It's supposed to promote a healthy lifestyle to the new generation. Our first issue will feature yoga and how it helps your body, mind, and spirit or whatever. I'm supposed to watch one of our advertisers' DVDs and learn how."

"Somehow I can't picture you doing yoga . . . No wait – I _so_ can!" he snickered.

"Shut up!" she playfully shoved him.

They caught each other's eyes and stared quietly for a moment.

"Betty, I never got around to telling you why I'm here – well, why I'm _still_ here, I mean," Daniel broke the silence.

"Daniel, I know," she said, taking his hand and leading him to sit on the couch.

"You do?" he asked, puzzled.

"Well, at least I _think_ I do," she answered, staring at their hands then looking back up at him. "At first, I thought you were just having one of your five-year-old tantrums - when you set fire to my release form . . . and yourself."

Daniel crossed his arms and attempted to protest, but Betty motioned to let her finish.

"It was only when I turned down your offer to stay that I knew for sure you were really hurting and not just pouting because your ego was bruised. I could tell you were trying not to cry, like I was, and I just wanted to hold you and tell you how much you truly meant to me. After you wouldn't talk to me, I was afraid I would never have that chance. You hurt me, Daniel," she confessed.

"Betty, I -" Daniel attempted to interject, but was unsuccessful.

"But I know I hurt you, too, and I'm sorry – that was the last thing I ever wanted to do. That's why I kept putting off telling you in the first place. I was so scared of leaving everything and everyone I knew and loved behind. And when you _did_ know, I didn't have you to tell me it would be okay, like you always had before. You wouldn't let me in – you wouldn't open up to me. And when you didn't even show up at my 'Goodbye' party, I thought for sure that you hated me. I thought your mom was imagining things when she indicated her theory. We were just really close friends. I guess I never believed that the reason you wouldn't speak to me or say "goodbye" was because -"

"I was developing feelings for you I couldn't explain," Daniel confirmed. "Hilda's speech, and then a talk we had later on at the reception, triggered a lot of questions in my mind about us."

"She got to you, too?" Betty asked.

"Yeah. And I couldn't tell you - I didn't really know how to answer them, myself, at the time. I thought we had all the time in the world to figure things out. It was hard to process how I felt, but I knew I couldn't let you go. And when I finally admitted the truth, I realized it wasn't right to keep you from your dreams."

"So is that why you quit MODE . . . for me?" Betty wondered.

Daniel hesitated, choosing his next words carefully.

"Yes, and no." he answered. "You know how we kept arguing about moving backward, not moving forward with our lives? Well, when I was going over the book for the last issue, it hit me that I wasn't going anywhere. Everyone else was moving on, and I was still living out my father's dream for me – not my own. Of course, following you here was definitely motivation to start fresh."

"Do you think you'd still be at MODE if I hadn't decided to leave?" she asked.

"I do. But this is a good thing for me and I'm thanking you for it. You pushed me to go out on my own, for once," he assured her.

Betty uncomfortably smiled, feeling both relief and a little pressure from Daniel's response. She hesitated before beginning to speak.

"Marc sent me a copy of the Letter from the Editor you wrote – after he gloated about being promoted to Creative Director and mentioned what an idiot you were and how fat I was, of course."

"Yeah, that's Marc," he rolled his eyes in amusement. "And you're not fat, Betty. You're beautiful."

"Thank you," she blushed. "And you're not an idiot."

"Thanks," Daniel replied.

They both smiled, knowing Marc loved them in his own weird way.

"So what exactly is 'the truth'?" Betty cautiously asked. "Were you actually talking about me in the letter . . . about us?"

Daniel pondered his choice in words, wanting to be honest, yet not too forward.

"The truth is that, yes, I _was_ talking about us. I'm in love with you, Betty. You probably don't feel anywhere near the same, and that's okay, but I had to come here and let you know how I felt. I had to see if we had a chance."

Betty formed a look on her face that could only mean one thing in Daniel's mind – pity. His heart sunk as she began to speak the dreaded words.

"You're right – I don't," she confirmed his fear.

Daniel hung his head. Betty immediately lifted it up to face her.

"Hey. Daniel, look at me," she ran her fingers along his jawline and gazed into his saddened blue eyes. "I haven't really thought about it like you have. I _do_ love you, but I never believed that it could be more than a friendship kind of love until you showed up here. It just seemed laughable – well, not _laughable_ but you know what I mean. Maybe it's because of our working relationship, or because we both know a little too much about each other's pasts, or because we were so close as friends, but I never dared to go there – and trust me, Hilda tried her best to get me to."

"So that's a no?" Daniel assumed.

"No . . . Looking back, I think we've both grown and learned from our mistakes. And I'll have to admit that I couldn't help but feel a little like a junior high girl with a crush when you told me you were planning on staying here for a while and wanted to take me to dinner," Betty revealed. "Maybe my drunken self was trying to tell me something, that one night?"

He grinned, sheepishly.

"I guess what I'm saying is I'm willing to find out where this could go, if you are . . ." she admitted.

"Really?" he asked, hopefully.

"Really," Betty confirmed and timidly pulled him towards her, their lips meeting for the first time. Then she started to giggle.

"What? What's wrong? Do I have something on my mouth? Is it my breath? What?" Daniel asked, confused.

"No – it's nothing! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! It's just _I'm_ kissing _you_ ," she explained. "My _best friend_ and _I_ are _kissing_ . . . I'm sorry - I know it's not that funny - I think I'm just really nervous."

"Well it's kinda funny in an ironic way, but I don't think it's _comically_ funny. But I guess you think we should book an act," Daniel pulled back, his pride obviously wounded. "I, uh, I've got some final paperwork to fill out back at the hotel. I'll see you around."

"No, Daniel, wait!" Betty exclaimed, begging him to stay. "I'm really sorry – I don't know what came over me. I think I started thinking too much about what we were doing instead of just getting lost in the moment. I want to try this again – _please_?"

Daniel took one look into her pleading brown eyes and couldn't refuse. Betty flipped on her stereo system and took his hands, leading him to an empty spot behind the couch.

"Why don't we just relax and let things happen naturally?" she suggested as Green River Ordinance's "Come On" played in the background.

"Okay," he agreed, dancing with her.

As the song ended, the music switched to a slower song he suddenly recognized. It was the same one they had held each other close to, near the end of the reception. Betty remembered it too, and closed the space between them. They swayed back and forth silently to "After Tonight", both thinking about that night and the memories they'd made.

Betty looked up at him, seeming to signal what she wanted with her eyes. Daniel cautiously brushed his lips against hers, softly and gently at first – waiting for another burst of amusement - but there wasn't one. Instead, a feeling of electricity came over them.

He parted her lips with his tongue, curious to explore what it felt like to truly kiss her. Betty responded eagerly, this time wanting the same. She tasted like strawberry lipgloss and spearmint gum. He couldn't get over how good it felt to finally be this close to her. He'd never experienced a kiss as intoxicating as hers - and he'd kissed a lot of women before. Was it because he was in love with her? He'd been in love with Molly and yet the passion and the chemistry weren't nearly as intense. There was something about Betty that was missing in every other relationship he'd had. He only hoped she could eventually feel the same about him. In any case, she was certainly reciprocating at the moment. Once both of their desires were fulfilled, they both pulled back, needing air.

"Wow . . . this definitely isn't so funny anymore," Betty quietly realized. "I'm so sorry I laughed. I feel horrible!"

She held him tightly, hoping he'd forgive her.

"Betty, it's okay – really. I wasn't expecting everything to be perfect. We're both still kinda new at this more-than-friends thing," Daniel responded, rubbing the small of her back and pecking the top of her head.

Silence set in as they took more time to process it all, holding each other the entire time. Being so close felt like home to them.

"You're sure you're okay with this?" he asked, slightly pulling back.

"It _is_ a little weird . . . I mean it's _us_ – _kissing_. But I don't think it's anything I couldn't get used to," she flirted and covered her lips with his again. "See? No laughing, already."

Daniel couldn't help but smile at Betty's efforts to prove to him she wanted to make things work.

"How about now?" he asked, giving her a kiss so heated her knees went weak.

"I don't think I'll ever see you as my dorky best friend again. I think I'm cured!" she teased, out of breath.

"Dorky? _Hey!_ " Daniel feigned offense.

" _Yes_ , Mr. High-five, Thumbs-up, Cheeto Tan," she reminded him.

"Fine – I'll admit that I can be a little . . . 'not cool' sometimes. But what about you, Miss Poncho-wearing, Butterfly-loving, Pink Bunny worshipper?" he countered.

"Point taken," Betty held up her hands in surrender.

"And speaking of Cheetos . . . where do you wanna go for dinner?" Daniel asked.

"Well, there are a lot of restaurants to choose from – despite what Papi tried to tell me – or we could order in?" she replied.

"Hey, I said I'd take you to dinner and I meant it. You deserve a night on the town," he insisted, caressing her cheek.

"Okay," Betty shyly smiled. "How about Italian?"

"Sounds great," Daniel agreed then noticed her spacing out for a minute. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Fine. It's just hard to believe this is happening – _we're_ happening," she confessed. "I mean, one minute we're talking and teasing each other like normal, and the next . . ."

"If you're too uncomfortable, it's okay. I get it," he said.

"No! I'm glad you're here – that we have whatever it is we have. It seems so surreal, that's all," she confessed. "You quit your job and came across an ocean to follow me – who does that in real life?"

"We _are_ in England – think I could get the queen to dub me a knight? Sir Daniel, my lady," he bowed.

" _Daniel . . ._ " Betty rolled her eyes and smiled. "I should've known you'd get a big head over it."

"Guess that rules out any medieval restaurants in the future," he joked.

"Those are actually pretty fun," she replied.

"Betty, I was kidding – you didn't actually go to one of those things, did you? Wait a minute – of course you did," he teased.

"Hey – don't knock it 'til you've tried it! Henry and I had a great time there on Administrative Professionals' Day – other than Charlie getting in the way, of course . . ." Betty remembered.

"Grubstick, huh? Now we've _gotta_ go to one – and I promise you you'll have a much better time without _him_ around," Daniel scoffed.

" _Daniel_ , not _that_ again - I thought we were through with the childish games?" she berated him.

"I don't like the guy, okay? He broke your heart too many times and he almost did it again just recently. Can you blame me for hating him?" he defended.

"Maybe he would have. But you have no reason to be jealous of him anymore," Betty assured him. "He's in another country."

"Hey – I was never jealous of him. I was protective of you and the way he treated you – there's a difference," he clarified.

"Maybe the first few times, but the more I think about it, the more I think this last time was out of jealousy," she replied.

"I guess you're right – he stole my place as your date for the wedding and maybe on a subconscious level, I was a little jealous," he conceded.

"A _little_ jealous – Daniel, you made him lose his job!" Betty argued.

"Okay, a _lot_ jealous," Daniel admitted. "Honestly, we hadn't had much time to hang out with each other what with my family issues and you helping Hilda plan her wedding. I missed my friend. And you said 'date' not 'plus 1', so of course I was interested. I thought we were moving forward in our lives. It bugged me that the little bastard wormed his way back in again and you let him take my place."

"Daniel, he didn't 'worm his way back in' - I drunk-dialed him out of nowhere. And no one could _ever_ take your place. You know that," she reassured him.

"I guess so . . . Can we let it go? How the hell did we start talking about that freakin' greaseball in the first place?" Daniel grumbled.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I don't know why I even brought him up. I know how much he's always bothered you," she rubbed his arm in apology. "Come on, let's go to Domo 94 – I'm starving!"

"You sure you don't want to stay here and do more of this . . .?" he asked, teasing her bottom lip and then her top.

"What happened to me deserving a night on the town?" she flirted, fingering the open collar of his shirt.

"We can still go if you want. But I thought maybe we could use the time to get more acquainted with each other?" Daniel suggested, drawing her in for another passionate kiss.

"Mmmm . . . I'll find the number for Thai," she firmly kissed him back and went to the kitchen.

Daniel chuckled with affection.

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"I've gotta admit this place was almost as good as New York," Daniel commented, propping his feet up on Betty's sectional.

"Just remember you owe me a _real_ dinner, Meade!" she playfully reminded him, poking him in the chest.

Daniel grabbed her hand and pulled her down with him.

"I thought tonight was a mutual agreement?" his blue eyes danced.

"It was . . ." she agreed.

"So shouldn't I be off the hook?" he assumed.

"Nope," she smiled, deviously.

"Nope?!" he protested, tickling her.

" _No!_ _Eeeeekkk!_ " Betty squealed. "Okay! Okay! _Yes!_ I give up!"

"You're too easy, you know that? I would've let you go after a few more seconds," he teased.

" _Daniel!_ " she playfully smacked him. "Why do I put up with you?"

"Why wouldn't you? I wasn't New York's most eligible bachelor for nothing," he lightheartedly countered.

"You're incorrigible," Betty shook her head, smiling, and got up to clean the pile of cartons on the coffee table.

"Hey," Daniel said, quietly, touching her arm.

Betty put down the cartons and timidly sat back down beside him, knowing he was serious this time.

"Are we good? I mean, I know it was really awkward for you at first, but all this is starting to feel natural – at least for me. Like we're still the same friends we were - only more. But I don't know how you feel."

"I feel it, too . . . _Better_ than friends," she described it.

"Exactly," Daniel grinned, pulling her in for a welcomed kiss.

"I never thought I'd say this . . . but I think I'm becoming addicted to kissing you," she muttered into his lips and drew him in again. "Is this what all the girls were talking about?"

Daniel grinned modestly.

"You're like a drug to me, too," he took his lips off of hers just long enough to admit. "I can't believe we wasted all this time."

"Me neither," she agreed, magnetized to him again.

Being with Betty, having her feel even a little of what he was feeling, was more incredible than he'd ever imagined.


	5. Chapter 5

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It was the Saturday after their dinner date and Daniel and Betty were inseparable. It was as if nothing had changed – well maybe a few things, of course. She had even convinced him to stay in her two bedroom apartment, arguing he was wasting his money on a hotel suite when they were together all the time. He was hesitant at first, afraid things were changing too fast for her. But in the end she had worn him down.

Daniel had only brought a carry-on when he first came. He didn't have time to pack anything else. Getting to Betty was the sole thought on his mind. He had had his mother take care of the rest of his things – which had arrived the previous day at the hotel.

Today was moving day and boxes and belongings were practically everywhere. Daniel stepped over a pile of clothes near Betty to pick up some CDs.

"Is that even possible?" he curiously questioned, casually leaning over Betty's shoulder as she was looking at the yoga manual that came with the DVD.

"Maybe if you're Gumby . . . How does he _do_ that?!" she stared in awe. "I think I just need to stick with the basics."

" _That_ I can help you with – I did take a yoga class, once," he said.

"Yes, I remember your 'yoga' pose," she stood on one foot and lifted her other leg up to her knee, her hands clasped above her head, mocking him - until she lost her balance, that is.

"Whoa! Careful, butterfly queen, you don't actually have wings. Are you sure you don't want someone else to take over this article?" Daniel asked, catching her before she hit the hardwood floor of her apartment.

"What did you just say?" she asked.

"Hey, sorry! I didn't mean to upset you, it's just you're not exactly athletically coordinated," he held his hands up in defense, expecting to get pommeled by the girl from Queens.

"Thanks for that – and I know. But that's not what I meant. What did you call me?" she asked again.

"Uncoordinated?" he guessed.

"No, when you caught me," she corrected.

"You mean 'butterfly queen'?" Daniel assumed.

"Yeah," she replied.

"I'm sorry – it just slipped out. Guess you just remind me of those things you love so much – changing over the years I've known you into something even more beautiful and perfect than before . . . But I won't do it again," he apologized. "I've learned my lesson with trying to call you a nickname."

"No, I like it," Betty smiled, leaning back in his arms. "It makes me feel like I'm your girl."

"You _are_ my girl," he nuzzled her neck.

" _Daniel_ . . . You know what I mean," she blushed.

"Yeah, I know," he lovingly captured her lips in an upside down kiss. "So, uh, do I get one, too?"

Betty turned around and placed her hands on his chest, contemplating for a moment.

"You could be 'D'?" she suggested.

"For?" he prompted.

"Just Daniel?" she guessed.

"Or the Dark Knight?" he threw out.

"Or dragonfly – the butterfly and the dragonfly? But you're right – the Dark Knight _does_ suit you more," she agreed. "Strong, rich, sexy superhero with a heart of gold and a dark past . . ."

"That'll work," he smiled. "'B&D' – it's like we're one of those TV supercouples or something."

"This is all kinds of cutesy disgustingness, isn't it?" Betty cringed.

Daniel shrugged.

"Who cares? Marc and Amanda had the office calling you Daniel's Lady a while back, anyway," he pointed out.

"How could I forget," she rolled her eyes. "Do you think they knew something we didn't?"

"Nah. I just think they liked to make fun of our friendship," Daniel shrugged.

"You're probably right," she agreed. "Hey, why don't you take some of your clothes over there and put them in my closet?"

"Betty, are you sure? I thought I was going to stay in the spare bedroom?" Daniel questioned, a little floored.

"I know, but I started thinking that sharing a room would be more practical – in more ways than one . . ." she seductively whispered in his ear, while allowing her hands to roam underneath his Harvard t-shirt.

"What's gotten into you, lately? I mean, not that I'm complaining or anything, but first you insist I move in with you and now you want us to share the same bedroom. Are you okay? Because this all seems a little too fast for you," Daniel worried.

"What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean? We're together all the time, Daniel – we even end up sleeping together most nights. Well, not _sleep_ together, but you know what I mean. And it's not exactly like we haven't done things in that department either. So why are you being like this? I thought you'd be happy?" Betty defended herself.

"I am. I just don't want you to have any regrets about us, okay? I know you aren't on the same page as I am, but I don't want you to feel you have to rush to catch up with me. This isn't a race, B. I love you and I'm not going anywhere – ever. So we can take our time – enjoy what we have, okay?" he assured her.

"Okay," she nodded. "But what if I _do_ feel this is right? I mean, simply dating you and setting sleeping boundaries would be counterproductive, wouldn't it? We can pretty much finish each other's sentences. And I already know you snore a little from falling asleep with you on the couch all these years. Sure, we weren't cuddling or anything and we never planned it, but I'd say that counts. And the cuddling part is pretty much routine, now."

"True. Four years of late-night takeout and movies . . . working together . . ." he thought back.

"Laughing, talking . . . telling each other the most intimate details of our lives . . ." Betty added.

"Let's not forget plotting against Wilhelmina and everyone else who was against us," he remembered.

Betty smiled.

"Screw dating and boundaries," he flirted, attacking her lips, and her neck.

"See. I knew I'd get you on my side," she flirted back, giggling.

Daniel gave her a sexy grin.

"Seriously - baby, whatever you feel is fine. I'm just happy to be with you," Daniel admitted.

"Me, too," she wrapped her arms around him. "I love that I can do this anytime I want."

"Uh, Betty? You basically have anyway," Daniel pointed out. "Marc and Amanda even made a blog."

"You mean like the one about my clothes?" she asked.

Daniel opened up his laptop and showed her.

"'Attack of the Mexican Blob'?!" she read, viewing a picture of her hugging a frightened and disgusted Marc. "And you bookmarked this one, too? Daniel, how could you?!"

"What?! Aside from the title it's actually pretty cute. You and I are in there _a lot._ They even had a count - see?" he pointed.

"1,162 . . . _Oh my god!_ That's almost a hug per day!" Betty exclaimed, embarrassed. "Maybe I _am_ too affectionate."

"No - never! It's one of the things I've always loved about you," he assured her.

"Wait a minute - some of these were after hours - Marc and Amanda weren't even there?!" she observed.

"Hey, you're right . . . _Oh_ \- security footage. They must've made screencaps," Daniel guessed.

"They really had too much time on their hands!" Betty shook her head. "Well, I know for sure I could never do _this . . ._ "

She seductively kissed him.

"You're right about that . . . This is definitely a bonus," he agreed.

They made out some more and then cuddled in a comfortable silence until Betty coyly spoke.

"I've still got some space in my closet . . ."

"Really?" he asked, wanting to make sure she was truly ready for this next step.

"Really," she assured him, handing him a stack of his dress shirts and pulling him by the hand into her bedroom. "Whatever doesn't fit, you can put in the spare closet in our new guest room."

"You've really thought about this," he said, surprised, as he looked at her half empty closet. "What happened to all of your clothes?"

"When I was packing to come here, I realized I didn't wear a lot of them anymore, so I donated them," Betty explained, hanging his shirts on the rod. "I figured I could always buy a few new outfits once I got here."

"And this?" he inquired, holding up her framed signature red poncho.

"I just couldn't seem to let that one go," she smiled, wistfully, and leaned it back against the closet wall.

"I still remember the day you literally came crashing into my life . . ." Daniel thought back.

"And here we are . . . four years later," Betty leaned her head on his shoulder. "Come on, I'll show you where you can put all of your manly cosmetic products."

"What do you mean 'all'? I'll have you know I only have five different moisturizers, and three bottles of concealer," he defended.

Betty tried to stifle a laugh.

"What? Is that wrong? That's normal, isn't it?" he asked, oblivious.

"For RuPaul, maybe," she snickered. "No, D, it's perfectly normal considering your family business. Just do me a favor and don't turn from Daniel to Danielle on me."

"Ha. Ha." Daniel pouted.

"Oh come on – Daniel, you know I'm just messing with you. You know I love all your little quirks," Betty reassured him with a brief but tender kiss.

"Yeah, I know," he forgave her.

"Good, because I was thinking maybe we could take a break from unpacking?" she proposed, toying with the belt on his jeans.

"You mean . . . here? Now?" he asked, surprised, and very intrigued.

"Mmmhmm . . ." Betty smiled, unbuckling his belt and unbuttoning his jeans. She then proceeded to take off her top and his, guiding him toward the bed. She captured his lips before she shed her yoga pants and stripped him of his jeans, creating a path with her lips all the way down his perfectly chiseled chest.

Daniel pulled her back up to him and kissed her soundly, letting his hands caress every part of her upper body. He fumbled with the clasp on her bra for a moment before removing it, but only because Betty started nibbling on his ear while her hands were slowly and meticulously freeing him of his boxer briefs and it was driving him crazy. He kissed her neck while toying with the band on her panties, his fingers instinctively beginning to inch beneath the silky black fabric - only his mind caught up with the rest of him.

"Betty?" he asked, his breath heated.

"It's okay, Daniel. I'm ready," she assured him.

He slid the final barrier between them off of her incredibly curved ass and his heart skipped a beat as he took in a full view of the gorgeous woman he loved. Betty smiled back at him, seeming to be as taken with him as he was with her.

"I love you, Betty Suarez," Daniel proclaimed, stroking her cheek.

Betty blushed, and closed the space between them, sinking her lips into his as if there were no tomorrow.

"Come here," she coaxed, taking his hands and backing onto the bed.

Daniel followed. Their bodies intertwined as they proceeded to make love for the first time throughout the entire afternoon.

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"Hey," Betty timidly looked into Daniel's blue eyes.

"Excuse me, do I know you? Have you seen Betty Suarez, because all I see is this feisty, sexy, siren who practically jumped me not too long ago . . ." Daniel flirted, lifting the sheet in a mock search.

" _Daniel_ . . ." Betty lightheartedly protested.

Her eyes widened and she began to squirm as she felt his hands and mouth start to roam around her lower region again.

" _Whoa . . ._ Easy there, Captain Kangaroo! Stop exploring The Land Down Under – I'm not quite ready for Round 6!" she playfully warned.

Daniel emerged from underneath the sheets, a devilish smile on his face.

"It was worth a shot," he excused.

Betty giggled.

"And I can't believe you just _said_ that – you're adorable," he teased her bottom lip.

"Well, I try," she flirted.

"Seriously, I mean, that was . . . I don't know _what_ that was but I definitely wanna try _all of it_ again!" Daniel shamelessly grinned. "You took me to another dimension!"

"Daniel, stop . . ." she protested. "I know you're just trying to make me feel good."

"No - No lie. Best. Sex. _Ever_." he assured her. "Betty, you connected with me like no one else ever has. It was like we could read each other's minds. I've never felt so complete with anyone."

"You made me feel beautiful," she confessed.

"Because you are," Daniel reminded, brushing the hair from her face and planting delicate kisses from her shoulder down to her hip. "Inside and out."

"I've never felt so comfortable – so free - like I could say or do anything – try anything. I didn't have to hold back," she admitted.

"And you have before?" Daniel asked. "B, that's so sad, because you are so amazing and you deserve to have everything you've ever desired – to be truly loved."

"You did that for me, Daniel. Showed me how incredible it can feel to really be with someone. And how fun – I mean, I can laugh with you, and make jokes – it's like I'm with my best friend, because you are . . . only so much more," she smiled. "I love you."

"I know," he brushed her off.

"No, I'm serious, Daniel," she insisted. "I'm in love with you."

"Betty -" Daniel objected.

"Wait – I know what you're going to say. I know you think I'm merely basking in our first post-coital bliss. That I'm not thinking clearly. Just let me finish," Betty requested. "I spent so much time going over this in my head, because I didn't want to give you false hope. But I know now for sure. I can't stop thinking about you when we're apart. Ever since you showed up here, I found myself daydreaming about you at work. I once caught myself writing the same sentence five times because I was so distracted."

Daniel chuckled.

"You make me laugh even when I feel like crying. You're the only one I can tell my deepest secrets to. You're the only one I want to come home to every night and wake up with every morning. You make my toes curl like no other guy ever could. When we're like this – as close as two people can get - I can't even see straight. We fit together so perfectly in every aspect of our lives and I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else but you, Daniel. If that isn't being in love, then I don't know what is," she confessed.

"I believe you," he drew her lips to his in an earnest and passionate kiss. "And . . . I think we should celebrate!"

"D, I'm way too tired to -" she objected.

"Not that," he got up and slid on his boxer briefs, then searched through her closet and pulled out an apple red Halston halter cocktail dress. "Here. Put this on – we're going out."

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"Was that waiter seriously hitting on me - right in front of you?" Betty mused.

"I know – he's lucky I didn't get him fired for trying to steal my girl," Daniel grumbled.

"Maybe you shouldn't have picked out this dress for me to wear – Amanda found it, so of course it's a little slinky for my taste. I've been too afraid to ever show it off in public," she replied. "I feel practically naked in it."

"I _knew_ there was a reason I chose it," he flirted.

" _Daniel!_ " she lightly smacked him in protest. "That's it – I'm donating it tomorrow!"

Daniel shook his head. As much as she'd learned from fashion, she still couldn't let go of her modesty sometimes.

"How about you think about it for a while? You could still wear it for _me_?" he suggested.

"Okay," Betty agreed as she plopped on the sectional and pried her black Louboutin pumps off of her swollen feet. "Ulchh . . . I'm exhausted. Who knew it would be impossible to ride the Tube without standing around waiting for an hour?"

"It's Saturday night," he reminded her, stretching out on the opposite end. "Everyone's out celebrating something."

"Speaking of celebrating, Lindsay mentioned you got the job as Creative Director at Royal Athletics. Why didn't you tell me?!" she threw a pillow at him.

"I don't know, I guess there were just so many other things going on that I forgot. I don't start for another week. They're still finishing up with construction for the new offices . . . And . . . I don't know . . . it's not like it's Sports Illustrated or anything," he shrugged it off.

"D, I know European athletics don't exactly scream excitement, but you still get to run photoshoots and design layouts featuring athletes and teams across the entire United Kingdom. And it's less paperwork and responsibility than being Editor. Plus, you get to do a swimsuit issue. And you _love_ swimsuit issues!" Betty cheerily pointed out, giving him another one of her pep talks.

"I bet I could get Victoria Beckham to do the cover . . ." he brainstormed. "And maybe David could do one in the fall – or is it the spring?"

"I'll find you a European Sports for Dummies book," she teased.

Daniel threw the pillow back at her.

"Seriously, Daniel. You'll do great!" she assured him, then grimaced as she rubbed her feet. "I wonder if Victoria has any tips for wearing stilettos and not killing your feet. I still can't believe how much of a slave to fashion I've become."

"Want me to run you a bath and give you a massage?" Daniel offered.

"Only if you'll join me," she bargained.

"I'll get the oil and salts," he replied with a sexy smile and left.


	6. Chapter 6

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A repeat of Fashion Buzz played in the background on the TV as Betty was doing her yoga exercises:

"Word is out that MODE's leading man, Daniel Meade, has ditched Daddy's dazzling empire for good," Suzuki revealed as a picture of Daniel popped up on the screen. "According to sources, and his latest Letter from the Editor, New York's most eligible bachelor is no longer wanting to be a bachelor and is no longer in New York. Which tempting tigress tamed the Lover of Lust? Why it's none other than his former assistant and Junior Features Editor, Betty Suarez, who is now EIC of the new London magazine Perception."

A picture of Betty in her poncho from four years ago appeared on the screen.

"Are you shielding your eyes from the hideousness? We did too. How in the name of Louis Vuitton did _she_ tame the Sexy Stud of Style when she can't even tame her own locks and frocks?! No fear, fashionista fans, because this hairy hobbit is now _this_ curvaceous brunette bombshell," he continued.

A photo of what Betty looked like currently, taken from another magazine's launch party the night she'd arrived in London, showed on the screen.

"Miracles _do_ happen, people – and my guess is lipo, caps, a stylist, and a decent blowout were hers!" he assumed. "No news as to whether heartsick Daniel has actually bagged the luscious Latina or not, but Fashion Buzz won't rest until we find out. Meantime, who is set to take his throne? Rumor has it the tiara goes to the Voluptuous Vixen, Co-EIC Wilhelmina Slater, with former assistant and Junior Fashion Editor, Marc St. James as her new Creative Director."

" _Ugggh . . ._ I've been to his house! Daniel and I know who he really is. What the hell is his problem?!" she flipped off the TV in exasperation.

"Hi, butterfly - I'm home!" Daniel greeted her. " _Damn!_ Do those reporters ever give up?! I had to dodge a mob of them at the front steps. Ever since Suzuki did that piece on Fashion Buzz this morning, there's no escaping them – even all the way in London. I have to wear a hooded sweat jacket and sunglasses to get past them. I know they'll figure out we're together eventually, but I just wanted a little more time before the media started to monitor everything we did."

"I know. I just got through watching Suzuki's piece again - I don't why I torture myself. Babe, why didn't you sneak in through the back door?" Betty asked, giving him a brief kiss.

"There's a back door?" he said, surprised.

"Yeah, how do you not know that by now? Didn't you read all the building info I gave you when you moved in? Never mind, you're you. Of course you didn't," she lovingly teased.

"Hey, I started to, but there's this curvaceous brunette bombshell who's been distracting me every time I have a free moment," he flirtingly excused, his lips making a trail down her neck.

"Nice try, but you had a whole week of afternoons while I was still at work and you hadn't started yet," Betty gently pushed him away, returning to what she was doing before he came in. "And I know you stole that description from Suzuki."

"Doesn't make it any less true . . . Are you still working on that feature?" Daniel asked, watching her get into a downward dog position, her hands and feet on the floor, her bottom up in the air forming a triangle.

"No, I'm done with that, but I've found this can actually be relaxing," she replied. "And I really need that, lately. Work is hell. I don't know how you did it, Daniel. The launch of the first issue is in three days and nothing is going right. I'd still be at the office, but it's so insane there that I needed a quiet place to sit and go over the final changes in the book before it goes to print. I thought maybe a little yoga might calm me down and get me focused so I don't screw something up."

"Hey, I couldn't have done any of what I did without you, Betty. I was a mess. You're amazing and I know you've got this. But if you need any help with proofing or anything else, just let me know," Daniel offered.

"Thank you. But you did so much on your own, too, Daniel. I just wish that someday I make Perception as good as you made MODE," she told him.

"We did it together, Betty. Which is why I _know_ you will make your own magazine great – I promise. I bet your first issue is a huge success!" he said.

"Hopefully," she said and attempted to move. "Um, D? I think I'll take you up on your offer to help me."

"Yeah, sure. Is the book in your briefcase?" he asked.

"No. I mean I'm stuck," she clarified.

" _Oh_ ," he mused, gazing at her ass. "Great, 'cause I'm loving this view!"

" _Daniel_ ," she berated. "Stop staring at my ass and help me up!"

"But it's such a _nice_ ass," he smirked, smacking it lightly. Then he relented.

"You're gonna pay for that," she threatened with a devious smile, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I hope so," he shot her a sexy grin.

Betty leaned in and closed the space between them, kissing him soundly on the mouth as she fingered the hair at the nape of his neck.

"Screw yoga – _this_ is the way to relax," she muttered into his lips.

Daniel shamelessly grinned as he ran his hands through her soft tendrils of wavy dark brown hair. Betty kissed his smile as her hands worked their way down to his ass. They maneuvered their way onto the couch when her phone interrupted them.

"It's Marc!" she shot up, pleasantly surprised. She hadn't had the chance to talk to anyone back home except her family, since Daniel had shown up in London. She leaned back against Daniel's chest and took the call.

Daniel proceeded to toy with her hand. He zoned out for a second wondering if his grandmother's ring would fit her finger or if it would have to be resized. Her fingers were so delicate.

Meanwhile, Betty was dealing with Marc.

"Hey, Marc!" she greeted him.

"Blimpy! So here's the sitch: Mandi and I are crashing with you next week 'cause I'm stuck covering some combined photoshoot with MODE London in the Land of the Unfashionable and Troy and I are saving up for a bigger more fabulous apartment," Marc announced. "We're coming Sunday."

"Ooookay," Betty rolled her eyes in amusement. "Not that I don't want to see you guys, but doesn't MODE cover your travel expenses? They did when I went."

"Yeah, well some of us don't have _luvahs_ for bosses. Where is Weak Chin anyway? Probably pouting like a pitiful puppy with his tail between his legs after you ignored that Letter from the Editor he wrote. And good for you! You don't need him anyway! No seriously, we had budget cuts as big as J-Lo's booty. Only airfare is being paid for. Besides, _I know you miss me!_ " he sung.

Betty snorted.

"So how did you get stuck, again?" she asked, ignoring Marc's comments.

"Ulchh . . . Everyone else is swamped. Willie and James Bond are at it like Ike and Tina again ever since Nico the manipulative bitch came back ready to attack Step-Daddy-to-be. Willie's stuck in the middle and I Can. Not. Take It! I need a break from all the drama, even if it _is_ somewhere that makes _you_ look like Eva Longoria. _God_ , I hope I don't run into that Clark guy," he made hurling noises.

"Who?" Betty asked.

"Do you ever listen to anything I tell you!" he huffed. "That guy who I did the YETI assignment on when we had to interview someone who had our job at another magazine?"

"Oh, yeah . . . So what happened to Amanda's stylist dream?" Betty inquired.

"It's sinking like the Titanic, so I hired her as my Girl Friday for the shoot since my real assistant Knows. _Nothing!"_ he complained _. "_ Reminds me a lot of you actually – you know, except for the frizzy hair, furry unibrow, hideous glasses, and metal mouth . . . 'cause who wants to look at _that_ every day?"

"I think I remember I don't have any space . . ." she threatened.

"Okay, okay, okay – don't get all Westminster Crabby on me. I didn't realize waddling walruses were so sensitive!" Marc scoffed.

" _Marc!_ " Betty berated.

" _What?!_ You sound fatter on the phone - like you ate one too many English muffins - you're not preggers are you?" he dramatically gasped. "No wait – that would mean you and someone would actually have to – _Ewwww_ . . . deleting _that_ image."

"Do you want to stay here or not?" Betty snapped.

" _Gahhh!_ For the love of Gucci, I'm sorry! I swear on Halston's ashes I'll behave," he apologized.

"Okay. I'll see you guys on Sunday," she said, hanging up.

"Sunday?" Daniel inquired.

"Yeah, he has some sort of shoot to oversee at the London branch so he and Amanda are going to stay with us," Betty answered.

"Does he even know there's an 'us'?" he asked.

"Nope. And you know Marc, you can't squeeze in a full sentence when he's in one of his moods," she scoffed.

"This should be fun . . ." Daniel grinned, his eyes dancing devilishly.

"I know! He insulted me ten times during our conversation, so it's payback time!" Betty agreed as they high-fived each other.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey, how's the gorgeous new EIC of Perception?" Daniel greeted his girlfriend as she came in from her magazine launch party with a hug and a kiss. "So how did it go?"

"Pretty good, I guess," Betty answered, a little disappointed. "What are you watching?"

Daniel quickly clicked the power button on the blu ray remote.

"'Die Hard'," he answered.

"Oh, so you found your box of movies?" she assumed.

"Uh . . . I found _a_ movie. What happened at the launch party?" he asked, sitting down with her on the bed.

Betty took a handful of popcorn.

"You know how you insisted on not coming – that this was my night and that if you came, all the attention would be focused on you and us instead of the magazine? Turns out that happened anyway. All the press really wanted to talk about was you and us," she answered. "They asked me where you were and had you contacted to me - had I read your Letter from the Editor. They even asked me what plastic surgeon had I used and what I'd had done."

"Think it's time for Byron Woo to come out of the hetero closet?" Daniel asked.

"After tonight, it's _sooo_ tempting," Betty pondered. "I tried to avoid answering their questions, but you know how I am when I get nervous. You might as well have come with me and just made it official after all, because they ended up figuring it out."

"I'm sorry, baby," Daniel apologized and held her. He hated it when she was unhappy.

"It got better, though, when Lindsay reminded them what they were there for and got into a discussion about the magazine itself. I think they really liked the first issue," Betty said.

"Hey, that's great!" Daniel exclaimed. "And you did it all on your own. See – I told you it'd be a hit!"

"Yeah . . ." she replied, halfheartedly.

"What's wrong? Why am I not seeing that signature Betty smile?" he asked.

"It's just . . . it all feels kind of tainted. I'm not sure whether they liked it because of my relation to you or because they honestly liked the magazine itself," she admitted, taking off her Manolos.

"Betty, listen to me. I read your entire issue before you put it to print. It was amazing. Well thought out, well-written, great layout, appeals to your target demographic, you got Emily Blunt to do the cover, and your Letter from the Editor was from the heart. You didn't pay a guy from Features to do it for you. You should be proud of yourself – I know I am," Daniel told her.

"You have to be – you're sleeping with the editor-in-chief," Betty pointed out, taking off her dress and getting one of Daniel's Harvard t-shirts out of the dresser drawer. She went into the bathroom and began to remove her makeup.

"Betty, have I ever lied to you?" he asked.

"Yes, several times, actually," she recalled, brushing her teeth. "Like when you said you were in Rio and wrote me all those postcards and it turned out I found you hiding in your closet. Then there was the time when you were popping pills under your desk, because you were using them to get over your sex addiction. And just recently, you told me 'no problemo' with signing my release form and that you were okay with me leaving. The entire Meade building knows how _that_ turned out."

She came back into the room and sat down on the bed.

"Okay, fine. So I haven't always been truthful with you," he admitted. "But we're still a team and you have to believe me, Betty. Whether the press or the readers love it because of who you are to me or because it truly is a great magazine shouldn't matter. Deep in your heart, _you_ know it's great. And it will continue to sell because you're amazing at what you do – not because of us."

"I guess you're right," she conceded. "Thanks, I needed that . . . Hey, since when did _you_ start being the one to give the pep talks, anyway?"

"Since we switched job positions – now _you're_ the one who's under the most public scrutiny," Daniel replied.

"I wouldn't go _that_ far – you're still a Meade," she pointed out. "No one would know me if it wasn't for you. And before you start in on another pep talk, I can accept that. Because _I_ know my true accomplishments even if nobody else does."

"Good," he smiled and brushed the hair back from her face. "So. Want me to go get the cookie dough ice cream?"

"I hate how you know me," Betty sighed.

Daniel lovingly kissed her forehead and left for the kitchen. He came back with an already half-eaten carton of ice cream and a spoon.

"Amanda and Marc are coming tomorrow aren't they?" he asked, taking a bite and then handing the container to Betty. "I can't wait to see Marc's face when he realizes we're together!"

" _I know!_ I love him, but he totally deserves it!" she agreed and took a spoonful.

"Ice cream and punking Marc - see, I knew I could cheer you up," Daniel smiled and continued to eat some more.

"You definitely know the way to a girl's heart," she said, taking her last bite and handing the rest back to him. "Daniel, could you do me a favor?"

"Anything, B," he said, finishing off the carton.

"Could you just hold me tonight?" she asked.

"Sure," Daniel told her, settling in with her and wrapping his arms around her.

"You wanna finish watching your movie?" she offered.

"Nah. That's okay – I know it's not your thing," he said.

"No, go ahead," Betty insisted. "Maybe I'll finally see why you like it so much."

Daniel reluctantly turned the movie back on.

"Wait a second – this isn't 'Die Hard'! This is 'Confessions of a Shopaholic'?!" Betty realized. "I thought you said you found one of your own movies?"

"Yeah, well I lied. I-I got bored and I couldn't find the box. So I looked through yours and that was the only one I hadn't already seen ten times that wasn't a cartoon. It at least had Isla Fisher in it and was about fashion and magazines," Daniel defended himself.

"Daniel, it's okay. It'll be our little secret," she patted his cheek, thoroughly amused. "Whenever I see this now, it reminds me a little of us, actually."

"Yeah, it kinda does in a way," he agreed. "Especially when that Rebecca girl slams into the glass and all the other clumsy, quirky things she does."

"You know, I was going to say you're cuter than Hugh Dancy. But maybe I'll take it back," Betty playfully threatened.

"Well, you're definitely ten times prettier than Isla Fisher," Daniel added. "Not to mention adorable, driven, intelligent, and incredibly irresistible."

"I have you well-trained, don't I?" she kissed him.

Daniel chuckled.

"And you really _are_ cuter than Luke. You're sexy, and smart, and kind -" she began, her fingers absently tracing lines on his chest.

"Keep it up and I might have to go back on my no-sex promise tonight," he flirted.

" _Daniel . . ._ " she lightly jabbed him.

" _Ow!_ Hey – don't you have that Henri Bendel scarf?" he noticed.

"Oh, yeah – except mine's in pink," she said.

"Yeah, that's right. I remember the day you won it from the Closet. It was a few days before I found out you were leaving. You were so happy to have snagged it and some shoes before everything was picked over. You came bounding into my office and asked me if I noticed anything different. Of course, I acted like I couldn't tell. You started modeling for me . . . I played oblivious to the point where you wrapped the scarf around my neck," he fondly mused.

"I remember. That's when you warned me to watch out for the cameras if I was going to perform one of my lap dances again, and I realized you were playing me the whole time," she thought back, and shoved him.

" _What?!_ Can I help it if I love watching you get all flustered and embarrassed? You're so cute!" he defended. "Plus, it gave me an excuse to see you model again."

"You're incorrigible," she rolled her eyes.

"And you love me irregardless," he playfully smirked.

" _Daniel . . ._ you said that on purpose! You know that's not a word," Betty scolded.

"Well, don't you?" Daniel persisted. " _Regardless . . ._ "

Betty hesitated for a minute, fighting a smile she inevitably couldn't resist.

"You're right, can't help but . . ." she toyed with his hand.

"Where is that scarf, anyway?" he asked.

"It's in one of my drawers. I'll find it for you later – I promise," she answered.

They snuggled against each other and ended up falling asleep by the end of the movie.


	7. Chapter 7

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"Hey, Lady!" Amanda greeted Betty with a big hug and sniffed her. "Mmmm . . . you smell manly . . ."

"Manly? What?! Oh, it's probably just the guy I'm seeing," Betty realized, then figured Amanda probably would've made the comment regardless.

"So, who is he? Is he sexy? Is he loaded? Can I have him?" Amanda eagerly inquired.

"Yes. Yes. And no," Betty answered. "And aren't you still with Tyler?"

"Yeah, it's just habit," Amanda explained.

"Ahem. _Hello . . .!_ Why do I feel like Susan Lucci waiting for her Emmy?" Marc announced himself.

"Marc! I missed you, too!" Betty flung herself at him in a friendly embrace.

"Ok. Ok. Can't. Lift. The Load . . ." he teased. "You _are_ getting chubbier."

" _Marc . . . !_ " Betty scolded.

"And bitchier . . ." he muttered to Amanda.

"I heard that!" Betty lightly smacked him on the back of the head. "Come on, I'll show you Amanda's room."

"Great! Where's mine?" he eagerly asked.

"Over there," Betty pointed.

"The couch?! But I can only avoid dark circles on a king-size pillowtop mattress!" Marc whined. "I need my uninterrupted R.E.M. cycle! The paparazzi are already after my gorgeous face and I've barely had this job a week."

"I told you, you shouldn't poke the pretty piñata," Amanda smirked. "Thanks, Bestie!"

"You're welcome, Amanda. What paparazzi?" Betty asked.

"The ones outside your building," Marc answered. "You told the media I was coming, didn't you?"

"Um, yeah. Sure," Betty covered, feeling guilty.

"Oh, my little churro, you! _Mwah!_ " he kissed her cheek. "I knew there was a reason I tolerated you all these years!"

Maybe not so much anymore . . .

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"So who's the new beau? He obviously spends a lot of time here," Marc observed, gingerly picking up a t-shirt and throwing it back on the floor. "Harvard? Wasn't that where Pasty Face paid for his diploma? You must have a thing."

"Daniel's not dumb, Marc. He's done a lot of _stupid things_ , but he's very intelligent when he wants to be," Betty defended.

"Oh my poor little Pudgy Princess, you're still not over him, are you?" Marc hugged her in comfort.

"No, I'm guess I'm not," Betty played along, feeling a little guilty again for deceiving her friend, but not too much. "Oh – my guy should be here in a few minutes – I thought we could all go out for dinner. I think you'll really like him."

" _I'll_ be the judge of that," Marc replied, protectively. "And keep me away from the entrees – and the desserts – they always kill my diet."

"Got it," she agreed, touched by how caring he was being. "I'll go get Amanda."

Marc nodded and leafed through a magazine.

"Hate it. Hate it. Have it. Hate it . . . Plaid? _Really?_ No wonder she makes bad decisions – when was this published?!" he scoffed, then heard a knock at the door.

He got up and opened it just as Betty and Amanda came into the room. Betty rushed to greet her man, crashing into Daniel with a sultry kiss so hot that it left very little to the imagination, and left Marc and even Amanda with their mouths hanging wide open.

" _Holy mother of Prada . . .!_ " Marc slowly whispered in shock, then exploded. "You?! A-And you?! _Why the hell didn't you tell me?!_ "

"It was more fun this way," Betty shrugged, amused.

"Payback, Marc – for all the insults," Daniel added.

"And how was this not on Fashion Buzz?!" Marc complained.

"It was, actually. But you guys were probably asleep on the plane when it aired," Daniel told him.

"I told you we shouldn't have taken a nap during the day, Mandi – we missed major gossip!" Marc berated Amanda.

"I wanted to get used to the time change," Amanda whined.

"So the paparazzi and reporters outside the building weren't for me?" Marc realized, disappointed.

"No, they were for me and Daniel. But they obviously recognized you. And you said they seemed excited to talk to you about everything MODE, right?!" Betty encouraged him. "Pretty soon you'll be as popular and trend-setting as Wilhelmina!"

" _Psssh! Stop!_ " he feigned modesty. "Go on . . ."

"Betty told me you guys were together, but I always pictured you as a snoozefest with zero chem – you know, like you were at MODE," Amanda commented. "Mmmm . . . that was super sexy – wanna have a threesome?"

" _Ewwwww . . . No!_ " Betty immediately exclaimed.

"Hell no!" Daniel said at the same time.

"You knew?!" Mark attacked Amanda.

"Only for two seconds before we came out here," Amanda defended.

"And you two – the insults - that's our thing. You guys know that. I'm Simon Cowell, you guys are the hopeless contestants . . ." Marc defended.

"We know, Marc. And most of the time we don't mind, but sometimes you take it too far. So maybe you could just dial it down a little?" Betty requested.

"You _are_ kinda mean, sweetie," Amanda agreed.

"Ulchh . . . Fine," Marc rolled his eyes and begrudgingly relented.

"Thank you!" she hurled herself at him in one of her hugs.

"Yeah, thanks, Marc," Daniel said.

"Quick! Go get the Jaws of Life and pry it off me!" Marc exclaimed, struggling to break free from Betty's embrace.

Daniel, Betty, and Amanda all gave him the evil eye and threatened to physically hurt him.

" _Kidding!_ I'm kidding! Sorry – last one for a few minutes," he promised.

They gave him the look again.

"I have to get used to restraining myself!" he excused.

"I have some handcuffs in my bag!" Amanda offered and pulled them out.

Daniel and Betty rolled their eyes. Then Daniel noticed a flash of light on Amanda's ring finger.

"Hey, what's that?" he asked, reaching for her hand.

"Oh, I was going to tell you guys – Tyler asked me to marry him!" she squealed.

Betty squealed along with her and they started jumping up and down and hugging each other.

"That's great, Amanda," Daniel half-heartedly said as he hugged her. He was glad she was happy, but he and Tyler hadn't exactly bonded.

"Isn't it gorgeous? It's supposed to be like really old or something," Amanda explained.

"It's beautiful! Very unique," Betty replied.

Daniel studied the ring carefully. He knew it looked familiar.

"Yeah, Claire gave it to him," Amanda said.

Daniel tried with everything in him not to explode. That was his grandmother's ring – the ring his mother had promised to him for Betty. And she'd given it to Tyler instead – what the hell?! He struggled to calm down as everyone else gushed over the ring and engagement.

"So! Is everybody hungry? I thought we'd try the Japanese steakhouse," Daniel attempted to change the subject, only getting Marc's attention.

"Prepare to help me rescue Charo, here, from singeing her hair again," Marc scoffed. "On second thought, scratch that, Smokey the Bear! You don't exactly exude fire safety either. Apparently Mama Meade was too busy tossing back shots of tequila to teach you not to flambé yourself for love. Mutilated Moron? _So_ not attractive! No wonder your lumpy Latin luvah left you for London!"

"Wait – Betty did _what?!_ " Daniel asked, curiously, ignoring Marc's dig at Betty, his mother, and his accident with Betty's release form.

Marc began to tell him the entire story in detail as they all headed out the door.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Just promise me you won't be a douche," Amanda said as she and Daniel entered his and Betty's flat.

" _What?!_ Why would you say that?" Daniel asked.

"Look, like I've said a zillion times before – you're not the best communicator. And you _do_ have issues with Betty being smarter than you," she explained.

"She is _not_ smarter than me," he claimed.

" _See._ There you go again," Amanda looked at him. "I know you've finally admitted that Chiquita Banana is what gets your tripod standing these days, but just remember plus-sized Prada girls have feelings, too. And this one would do anything for you, so be gentle with her. Betty doesn't do the casual sex thing. So I hope you're totally positive this is what you want."

Daniel rolled his eyes and chuckled at the same time.

"Amanda, I realized after our fight about her blog that I _was_ jealous of how driven Betty was. She'd accomplished more in four years than I ever had and that intimidated me. But I also admire her for it. I'd always had everything handed to me and never bothered to set any real goals for myself. I quit MODE because Betty inspired me to do something on my own - to really work hard to achieve what I wanted in life and in love. That life was a job I wanted and could get without my father. That love was Betty. I would never do anything to hurt her. She's not a fun-buddy or some random model that gets me through the night. I'm in love with her. It's why I came here of all places to start over," he confessed. "She's it for me."

"Awww . . . Then I'm happy for you," she smiled and hugged him, then kissed his cheek. "But if you _ever_ do _anything_ to piss-off my Mexican Mama or crush her oversized heart, I'll come over here and break your balls."

"I won't - trust me. But shouldn't you be on _my_ side?" Daniel wondered, sitting on the couch.

"Bras before booty calls," she excused, sitting beside him. "Betty's my girl bestie."

"Yeah, I get it," he said. "So you and Tyler? Things are that serious?"

"Everyone's surprised I'm not just in it for the ring or the dress or the wedding. It hurts, because I really do love him," she admitted. "I want more than sex – I mean the sex is _unbelievable . . ._ we tried this one thing where -"

"Amanda!" Daniel stopped her.

" _What?!_ Maybe you and Betty would wanna do it," she defended. "I bet she's secretly into all the kinky stuff. _Mmmmm . . ._ "

"Just go back to what you were saying about love!" he huffed.

"Your loss . . . Anyways, I want love. I want a family - I've never really had one of those," Amanda revealed. "I mean, I finally found my bio dad and it's great, but I guess I've always wanted the normal kind. You know the ones you see on TV with the happy parents and the cute kids, and they all sit around the table eating a perfect meal and talk and laugh about their day? I guess that's why I loved when Uncle Papi fixed dinner for us. Mexicans are such warm and welcoming people. I felt like family there."

"Oh, Amanda . . . I never knew you wanted that with someone. I hope you and Tyler have that together," Daniel told her, honestly, putting his hand on hers. "I'm sorry I tried to keep him from you. That was wrong and selfish of me. I knew I didn't love you, but I felt comfortable with you. I needed someone to help me forget my problems, and you were there for me. I didn't want to let you go – especially to the guy who was one of those problems. But without you, I was forced to face them . . . And I ended up finding someone who I actually do love. So thank you."

"You're welcome . . . I don't suppose there's a new wardrobe or something out of it is there?" Amanda tried.

"No," he laughed.

"Ehh . . . worth a shot," she shrugged.

"So I guess we're technically family now, too – future sister-in-law," he realized, leaning back to relax.

"Heeey that's right! So does that mean that like if I'm in trouble or need to borrow money or a kidney or something that I can call you?" she asked.

Daniel chuckled.

"Yeah. But you could always have done that," he said.

"Oh. Well, thanks for telling me _now!_ " she pouted, then got over it and jumped up. "I need a drink! _Ooooh!_ Do you guys have any margarita mix? And where's your Wii? I feel like playing that dance game Betty has. Marc's _hilarious_ at it when he's drunk! And you should see Betty when she's sober!"

Daniel laughed just picturing the two of them.

"I'll go find it. The mix is in the far left cabinet in the kitchen," Daniel told her, getting up from the couch.

Maybe Amanda being engaged to Tyler wouldn't be so bad. Maybe he could give her the family and the happiness she deserved to have. He just wished he hadn't given her the ring that was meant for Betty.

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"So what's really up with you two?" Marc asked Betty when Daniel and Amanda had gone inside the apartment building after dinner.

"What do you mean?" Betty asked, sitting on the steps.

"Are you seriously going to give Great Balls of Fire the time of day after all the 'ish he's put you through? I mean, _come on!_ " he objected. "You've literally dealt with Daniel's dirty, fresh from hetero sex laundry for four years and he couldn't even take his Fall 2008 Ferragamos over to the office to tell you 'goodbye'? He didn't even pick up his freakin' phone! Even Willie wouldn't do that to me and we weren't luvahs like you two were."

"See, that's it, though. That's exactly why Daniel wouldn't talk to me. I wasn't just his employee and friend. He realized he was in love with me. He said he knew that if he'd told me how he felt before I left that I'd feel obligated to stay. He wanted me to be happy, even if it meant letting me go," Betty explained.

"Oh, that is _sooo_ cliché," Marc gagged. "But still swoon-worthy, I suppose."

"And it's not like I was innocent in all of this," she admitted. "I really hurt Daniel by not letting him in on my decision. We told each other everything. Whenever I had a new opportunity, I always turned to him for advice. I'm not sure why I didn't do that this time."

"Maybe subconsciously you thought if you let him in on it, either directly or indirectly, he'd wind up talking you out of it?" Marc assumed. "Because, you never moved to Tucson, or went to Rome. You stayed with Daniel. You fought for the Features position instead of taking the job at the New York Review because you didn't want to leave Daniel. You've always been loyal to him – like his trusty old Mexican hair-mess. And before you get all huffy, I'll admit I'm Willie's poodle, too."

Betty smiled. Wilhelmina always did have Marc on a tight leash.

"Maybe you're right . . . I could never find a way to break it to him that I was leaving – you didn't help, by the way," she reminded him with a slap on his arm.

"I was merely trying to help you face your Daniel Dilemma. You should be thanking me – not spanking me!" he defended himself.

Betty rolled her eyes.

"I'm in love with him," she confessed. "It still sounds funny to say it out loud – he's been my best friend for years. But I'm crazy about him."

"You never noticed it, but you've been cray-cray over Daniel pretty much since you've met him. Not just anyone would go Lady Gaga to save his couture covered ass from all the shit he and his family got into. He _did_ quit his job and move across an ocean for you, though – I guess that makes up for almost all of it . . . and proves you really are the Dolce to his Gabbana," Marc reasoned. "But you should milk it for all it's worth – flowers, jewelry, trips to Paris and Milan . . ."

Betty giggled.

"And don't let him hurt you – 'cause guys like that – I've been there before and it's a long way down to an ugly life of sadness, junk food, and cellulite," he advised.

"I'll keep that in mind," she humored him.

"I'm serious, Betty. Look, I know we joke around and I call you names, but you're still my little Chimichanga. And if Richie Rich ever breaks your heart, call me and I'll get Willie to kick his flat ass to the ground," Marc promised.

"Aww . . . that's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me. I don't think I'll ever need you to, but it's nice to know I have back-up . . . And I love you, too," Betty threw her arms around her friend.

"I actually think I'm getting used to these things – it's a lot like lifting weights – maybe because I am, essentially," he teased.

"Marc!" Betty berated him.

"Sorry," he chuckled. "It's just fun to watch your hairy nostrils flare up."

She smacked him.

"Party pooper," he pouted.

That sat in contented silence for a minute.

"So you and Troy are getting a bigger apartment? That sounds exciting!" Betty said.

"Ehhh . . . I guess," Marc shrugged. "I'm glad I got him back and I guess I _do_ want someone to commit to. I think I love him, but it's all happening so fast. He's already talking about going to Vermont and getting married and maybe adopting a kid from China . . ."

"Wow! Have you tried talking to him? I mean, it seems like he's already five steps ahead of you. You're not even sure if you love him yet," she said.

"I'm afraid if I say something, he'll leave me again," Marc confessed. "I already hurt him once by blowing him off – wrong choice of words – ignoring and avoiding him. What if I tell him how I feel and he can't accept it?"

"Then he isn't worth it. If you tell him that you're not ready, but still want to be with him . . . That _someday_ you want to get married and raise a child together, and he can't wait for you, then maybe you guys aren't meant to be," she advised.

Marc looked down disappointedly.

"You are amazing, Marc. You're smart, and funny, and handsome, and creative – you're even sweet and thoughtful when you want to be. I'm so happy that you've found someone who loves you and who you might be falling in love with. But Troy doesn't deserve you if he isn't willing to wait until you're both on the same page. Don't be afraid to talk to him. I hope he understands and that he's the one for you . . . Even if he isn't, there's someone out there – I know it," she told him.

"There you go getting all Lifetime Original Movie on me again," he rolled his eyes. "But thank you."

"You're welcome," she smiled.

"I never thought we'd get here so soon – definitely not _you_. _I_ of course was destined for bigger things someday," he mused.

"And now we're both successful – _you_ have _Wilhelmina's_ old job," Betty observed, taking in how incredible that was.

"And you have Daniel's – only in a much less popular, less important magazine," he degraded. "But still, I'm proud of us both. We stuck it out – we really made it."

"Yeah, we have," Betty smiled and rested her head on Marc's shoulder.

Marc leaned his head on hers.

"We've even got paparazzi after us," he smiled, dreamily.

"Isn't it insane?" she laughed.

"Yeah," he said, still dazed by their accomplishments.

"I have to meet up with our London counterparts tomorrow," he said. "If they're all as bad as Clark, I'm gonna have nightmares for weeks!"

"I'm sure you're exaggerating," she told him.

He ignored her.

"And what if I run into _yours?!_ Imagine you on your first day at MODE only 1,000 times worse? _Ullllllchhhhh!_ " he shuddered in disgust. "Not even plastic surgery would fix _that!_ "

"Why don't you give them all a chance first, instead of building up images in your head?" Betty suggested.

"Fine!" he huffed. "But I'll make sure to take pics, for proof that I was right."

Amanda came out of the building.

"Heeey, what are you guys still doing out here? Daniel and I made margaritas," she pulled them both up.

They all went inside, arms wrapped around each other, laughing and talking about old times.


	8. Chapter 8

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Betty came into their bedroom to find Daniel on the bed, moping.

"There's my Dark Knight in shining armor," she said as she sat behind her boyfriend, put her arms around him, and nuzzled his neck. "Amanda and Marc are headed to the airport."

"Mmmhmm," Daniel responded, lost in thought as she massaged his shoulders.

"Don't tell me you miss them already? They only stayed with us a week and Amanda managed to walk stark naked into our bathroom to use the shower _three times_ while we were getting ready – once, I was already in there and thought it was you," she shuddered in disgust.

"After I realized all the shrieking wasn't because of pain, I found it pretty enjoyable," Daniel started laughing.

"Hey! That was _not_ funny!" Betty defended, lightly slapping the back of his head. "I know you're used to women you've slept with showering together and all, but I am _not_ one of those women!"

"I know. I'm sorry," he apologized.

"I felt like I was back sharing an apartment with her again," she complained. "I still can't take a shower without constantly looking behind my back."

Daniel snorted.

"Amanda is _not_ Norman Bates," he argued.

"No, but how would you like a naked Becks to walk in on _you_ in the shower?" she countered. "Just as bad, isn't?"

"Scary as hell," Daniel agreed. "Got it."

"And not only did Marc 'accidentally-on-purpose' break my glasses – I managed to tape them for now - but then he took one look at our fridge and pantry and threw out all our food and forced me to buy only low-fat, fat free, or vegan products," Betty continued.

"That explains why I had to use soy milk in my cereal the other day. And what the hell was that crap he used for appetizers last night? I thought I was getting chicken nachos and it tasted like feet!" Daniel cringed.

"Tofu. I don't think he seasoned it well enough," she answered.

"I'm not sure it could _ever_ be seasoned good enough to be edible," Daniel maintained.

"Well, if you _do_ miss them, I guess that wouldn't be a bad thing, since Christina already offered Amanda a job working on her fashion line," she told him. "If she manages to tone down her ideas, she's thinking of letting Amanda branch off on her own to a sister line, eventually."

"That's great. I'm happy for her," he halfheartedly responded.

"I know – I'm so excited! But I don't know if she'll take it – it depends on how Tyler feels about moving here. Oh my god – Tyler! Daniel, is that a problem? I mean it's such a big city I didn't think you'd mind, but maybe you do?"

"No, it's fine. It's something else, don't worry about it," he said.

"Tell me. We're a team, remember?" Betty reminded him.

Daniel hesitated for a minute before opening up.

"You know Amanda's ring? It was my grandmother's," he revealed.

"Oh. And you're upset because . . . you wanted something pretty to wear?" she lightheartedly jested.

" _Betty_ ," Daniel warned.

"Sorry. So what _is_ the problem?" she asked, sincerely.

"I can't tell you," he said.

"D, I can't help you if you won't tell me what the problem is," she replied.

Daniel sighed and gave up.

"My Grandpa Jack gave it to my Nana and they were married for over fifty years. They stayed together all that time – through _everything_ – his drinking, her illness, financial issues, you name it . . . they stuck through it all. I think that really means something, you know?" he explained.

Betty nodded and put her hand on his. She knew Daniel had had a rough childhood - and adulthood for that matter, with his mother's drinking, his father's affairs, and his parents' divorcing. He had probably idolized his grandparents for managing to keep it together, no matter what came their way.

"Mom promised the ring to me . . . for you." Daniel revealed.

"Oh," Betty replied, her heart stopping for a moment as she comprehended the significance.

"Only now, Amanda has it," Daniel said, frustrated.

"Daniel, it's okay. I'm flattered that you would want me to have it. But I wouldn't mind a ring from vending machine if it came from you," she assured him. "Have you honestly thought about marrying me?"

"Of course I have – since the second I realized I was in love with you," he said. "I told my mom to hold onto the ring because I knew you wouldn't be ready for it yet. And then she had to go and give it to Tyler of all people."

"You shouldn't be so hard on Tyler – he's your brother. And like it or not, that makes him family. You should at least try to get along – he and Amanda might be moving here. Wouldn't it be nice to have some family close by?" Betty advised.

"Maybe _your_ family . . ." Daniel grumbled. "Tyler seems like an okay guy. I don't hate him or anything, but I don't feel the need to bond with him either. And none of this fixes Mom giving him your ring."

"Babe, I know it means a lot to you, but don't get upset over it for me. I love you for you – not the material things you can give me. But if it bugs you this much, maybe you should talk to your mom about it. I know her - I'm sure she had a good reason," Betty tried to console him.

"I guess so," he shrugged. "So are you okay with what I just told you – getting married someday?"

"To you?" Betty asked.

"Nah, I was thinking Derek Jeter," he teased.

"Hmmm . . . that's actually not a bad idea," she played along.

"Hey!" Daniel protested, attacking her in a tickle fight.

" _You_ said it – not me!" Betty giggled, trying to fight him off.

"Well I didn't _mean_ it!" he argued, holding her down with one arm and tickling her with the other until she surrendered.

"Ok – I promise I won't marry Derek Jeter!" Betty giggled.

Daniel stopped.

"Good," he replied, brushing her hair back from her face and sinking his lips into hers.

"Or any other guy," Betty smiled, caressing his cheek.

" _Any_ other guy?" he asked.

"I think I could make an exception for _you_ ," she flirted.

"Seriously?" Daniel asked.

"Seriously," Betty confirmed. "Whenever you're ready, just ask."

A long pause fell upon them as Daniel contemplated whether or not it was the right moment. He finally decided to take the risk.

"What if I _am_ asking?" he replied, his stomach flip-flopping as he spoke.

"What if I'm answering?" she responded, her lips tenderly meeting his.

"Was that a 'yes'?" Daniel asked, uncertain.

"Yes," Betty assured him.

Daniel grinned and devoured her lips in a fervent kiss as they celebrated through the night.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Betty fluttered eyes open as she sensed lips and fingers gently tracing every curve of her naked body. The warmth of her fiancé's touch was indescribable. The heat of his bare skin against hers sent shivers down her spine – the good kind. If he only knew what he was doing to her . . . Knowing Daniel, he probably did. If she could wake up every morning like this, she would.

"Mmmm . . . morning," she moaned, smiling sleepily.

"Morning, future Mrs. Meade," Daniel greeted her with a kiss so hot if she hadn't be fully awake before, she definitely was then.

"Wow . . . what did I do to deserve this sexy wake-up call?" Betty wondered.

"You only gave me the best gift ever," he answered, kissing her left hand.

"After last night, I thought I was becoming a true artist of seduction with whipped cream, but I didn't realize I was _this_ good," she flirted.

Daniel laughed into her shoulder.

"No, you really are. I think we're both still a little sticky in certain places, actually," he noticed.

"I guess we need to fix that . . ." she said, running a finger over his lips.

"Probably so. But what I really meant was you agreeing to be my wife," he told her. "You have no idea how happy you've made me."

Betty turned on her side to face him, lazily draping her leg over his hip.

"Judging by this morning, I think I do," she giggled, tracing lines over his well-molded chest and abs. "And I still can't believe you want to be my husband. I'm going to be Betty Suarez-Meade – married to my best friend, the most wonderful man in the world. I'd be jumping up and down right now if I wasn't so tired."

"Too tired for this?" Daniel roughly whispered, cupping her breast as his tongue flicked her ear lobe.

" _Mmmm . . . God, Daniel_ you really have a way with convincing me," she groaned with pleasure and sucked on his bottom lip, giving in. "Okay . . . _one_ time. But then we really need to shower and get some errands done."

"Want me to protect you in there?" he teased.

"You wouldn't be my Dark Knight if you didn't," she flirted. "C'mon. Why don't we multitask?"

"Or we could have Round 1 in here and Round 2 in there?" he bargained.

"Or what if I promise to do that certain thing you wanted tonight?" she countered.

"What thing? You mean watch 'Die Hard', if I find it?" Daniel replied, totally oblivious to her subtle offer.

"Okay . . . _Or_ you could actually use that beautiful brain of yours and get what I'm saying," she hinted.

"Huh?" he struggled to figure out what she was talking about, then it finally hit him. The edible underwear Amanda forced her to buy when they'd gone shopping. He knew how uncomfortable she got in those places. "Oh. _Oh! Really?_ I thought you said you'd never wear those?"

"What can I say – being with you has opened my mind to a lot of things I've never tried before. Like moving in with someone after only two days or getting engaged in three weeks. I'll wear them if you will?" she slid her hands over his firm ass and squeezed it.

"Deal," he grinned. "Can we watch 'Die Hard', too?"

"It's either 'Die Hard' or hard-on," she playfully offered, her fingers roaming his lower region.

"I'm smart enough to know _that_ answer," he joked.

Betty laughed and coaxed him out of bed. They heatedly kissed, fumbling their way into the shower.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm sorry, dear. Tyler came to me and announced he was proposing to Amanda. I was so thrilled he wanted to share his news with me that I offered him the ring by mistake. I hope you'll understand. Your brother doesn't have much from his biological family and I wanted to let him know that he truly is a part of our lives," Claire explained over Skype.

"Fine! Give him your million dollar Renoir or-or that hideous Grecian three-headed gargoyle that's in the foyer. Hell – give him your whole damn house for all I care! But that ring was Betty's! It _means_ something to me – it doesn't mean a damn thing to Tyler, other than it came from you. He didn't know Nana and Grandpa Jack. He didn't know the relationship they had. I _did!_ You offered it to _me_ first! I asked you to save it for me less than a month ago!" Daniel exclaimed.

"Daniel, darling, I can't just rip it off of Amanda's finger and give it back to you. And how would Betty feel if she were to know?" she pointed out. "You both care about Amanda – think of _her_ feelings."

 _God_ , he hated when his mother was right! And he knew he was being childish, to a point. But on the other hand, she had no right to do what she did.

"This is bullshit! I didn't do anything wrong and neither did Betty and yet we both get screwed, and everyone else is happy. I should've taken the freakin' thing with me when you offered it. I should've known something would go wrong – it always does," Daniel ranted. He couldn't help it – he had to get everything off his chest and his mother deserved to feel guilty.

"I truly am sorry, sweetheart. If there were any way to fix this, I would. But there isn't. All I can offer is some money for you to buy Betty the most beautiful and unique ring you could imagine. And you can pass _it_ on to your _own_ grandchild someday," Claire offered. "I hope you can forgive me, eventually . . . At least before I'm too old to remember I have a son."

"Why is it that every time I get pissed at you for something _you_ did, _I'm_ the one who ends up feeling guilty?" he complained.

"It's a mother's gift," she smiled. "Now, I will wire the money to you first thing tomorrow morning. Please give my love to Betty, and I hope to visit soon – that is if you'll still have me."

" _Mom!_ " he berated.

"I love you, son," she said.

"I love you, too, Mom," Daniel sighed and closed the window on his laptop only for Alexis to pop on not five minutes later.

"What's this I hear about you being pissed at Mom for giving Tyler Nana's ring?" she jumped right to the point.

"She promised it to _me_ ," Daniel explained.

"So? Suck it up little bro! Why do you always have to be such a baby?" she said, unsympathetically. "Tyler's our brother, now, so just deal with it!"

"Easy for you to say – you've got Grams' ring," he countered. "And what are you best friends with him, now?"

"No. But I've spent some time with Tyler and he's not a bad guy. He's great with DJ. You should give him a chance," Alexis suggested.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Daniel groaned.

"Because it's true, dumbass," she replied. "And quit whining like you're the only one who didn't get a special ring! It's not like Grams is our bio grandmother."

" _Wait - what?!_ What do you mean?" Daniel asked, floored.

"Grandma Meade died of cancer when you were a baby. Gramps remarried when you were still too little to remember and he was too old to realize she was a gold digger. We never bothered to tell you because we didn't want to confuse you and by the time you were old enough to know, we didn't think about it," she explained.

" _What the hell?!_ Who _are_ you people?! How could you not tell me?! And don't you think it's a slap in the face to Grandma's memory not to honor her?"

"We _do_ honor her – every year on her birthday," Alexis said.

"Oh my god!" Daniel groaned. "How the hell did I get stuck in this freakin' family?"

"Hey, D – can you help me with these? I had to replenish our stock of food after Marc threw all of it away," Betty came in the door with her hands full of groceries.

"Danny, it's not that big of a deal – wait, who is that?" Alexis asked, hearing Betty's voice.

"It's Betty – didn't Mom tell you?" he answered.

"No – she just said you were pissed about the ring," she said. "Betty?! _Our_ Betty?! Frizzy-haired, braces wearing, fashion-impaired Betty?"

"Daniel!" Betty yelled, then got frustrated and went to the living room to drag him over to the kitchen. "Babe, I already have half of the food put away. Why didn't you come help me? Oh! Hi, Alexis!"

Alexis looked up from drinking her coffee and immediately spewed it all over the screen. She wiped it off with a napkin and gained her composure.

"Betty? Y-You look . . . _gorgeous?!_ " Alexis observed. "No wonder Danny's finally fallen for you!"

"Thank you," Betty smiled, uncertainly. "I think."

" _Alex!_ " Daniel yelled at his insensitive sister.

"It's okay, Daniel. I know I've changed," Betty stopped him from saying or doing something he'd regret.

"I didn't mean it as an insult to _you_ , Betty. I meant it for Danny. You know how superficial he is," Alexis excused.

"I am _not!_ " Daniel argued.

"You are _so!_ " Alexis insisted.

"Am not! Am not!" he repeated.

"Yes you _are!_ " she continued to harass her brother. "You are so freakin' shallow you wouldn't know a decent woman if she bit you in the ass!"

"Screw you, Alex!" Daniel retorted.

"You're such a dick, Danny!" she accused.

"Oh yeah? Well at least I still _have_ mine!" he smirked.

"Is _that_ what you call that pathetic little thing?" she snickered. "The only way you ever succeed in man-whoring around is picking the sluttiest bimbos and getting them so hammered they can't tell an orgasm from -"

" _Hey, hey, hey!_ _Time out!_ What the hell is wrong with you two?! I can't believe I still have to play the freakin' referee!" Betty rolled her eyes as she broke up the siblings' immature argument. "Alexis, your brother truly isn't superficial or a man-whore anymore. And I know for a fact that your other accusation is false as well."

Daniel looked at his sister with a smug expression.

"And wipe the smile off your face, Meade," Betty commanded.

It was amazing how before even turning to look at him she knew.

"How do you _do_ that?!" he pouted.

Betty stared at him knowingly.

"Just stop making jokes about your sister's sex change," she scolded.

Daniel started to object.

"Don't give me the 'she started it' BS," she warned. "And both of you – what are you five years old? Grow the hell up!"

The siblings grumbled, muttering something about their mother, but sheepishly agreed to stop fighting.

"Thank you," Betty sighed in exasperation.

"So you're saying Danny honestly doesn't sleep with model after model?" Alexis asked, skeptically.

"No, he hasn't done that for a long time," Betty confirmed. "He's wanted serious relationships for a while, now."

"Told you I'm not who I used to be," Daniel smirked at his sister.

"Wow! When Mom said you'd quit MODE and had gone after Betty, I thought you were just chasing some random tail again," Alexis said, shocked. "So, are you guys seriously together?"

"We're engaged," Betty awkwardly smiled.

" _Oh_ , so _that's_ why Danny threw the big stink about the ring," Alexis put it together. "Congratulations, sweetie! You're the only girl who could make my brother act like a halfway decent guy. Make sure he treats you right. Danny, if you screw this up I'll come over there and beat your scrawny little ass!"

"Glad _that's_ something I won't have to look forward to," he muttered to Betty. "She wears _stilettos_ , now!"

Betty leaned into his chest stifling a giggle.

"It'll be nice having some sisters for a change," Alexis told her. "Although, I'm not so sure about Amanda . . ."

"She'll grow on you," Betty smiled, knowingly.

Alexis laughed.

"Text me your number – we'll talk designers and wedding planners," she said.

"I will," Betty promised.

"Gotta go – need to pick DJ up from soccer practice. I'd say 'welcome to the family', Betty, but you know what you're getting into. And fortunately, I think you're strong enough to survive in it. Danny, love ya bro – we'll talk soon!"

"Thanks, Alexis. Tell DJ we said 'hi'," Betty said.

"Love you, too, sis. Remind DJ I'm coming to one of his games next fall. I might bring Betty with me," Daniel said, and looked at Betty who nodded in agreement.

"Great – can't wait to see you guys. Bye!" Alexis waved.

Daniel closed the laptop.

"Well, _that_ was interesting," Betty commented, heading back to the kitchen.

"Betty, what Alex said . . . I hope you didn't believe any of it," he said, following her. "How you look isn't why I fell in love with you – it's only part of it."

Betty continued to put away the rest of the groceries.

"Daniel, you don't have to explain," she assured him, reaching around him for the top shelf.

Daniel took the box from her and put it away.

"No, I do," he insisted. "You're the whole package, Betty. You were always beautiful. I fell in love with you because of who you are and what you became. We both grew up so much in these past four years. You're not the same naïve girl who slammed into the conference room, who saw everything through black and white and never in shades of gray."

"And you're not -" Betty began.

"The jackass screw-up who didn't know a thing about my job and only cared about which model I'd go home with each night. I know I treated you like shit that first week. I'm so lucky you gave me a second chance – I didn't deserve it." Daniel finished for her.

"You're right, you didn't," Betty agreed. "But I needed the job. Plus, I figured any East-Side guy who'd go all the way to Queens – in a town car - to beg me to come back must be really desperate."

"I was," Daniel confessed. "My hubcaps got stolen, by the way."

"Serves you right," she teased, putting her arms around his neck.

Daniel instinctively placed his hands on her waist and pulled her closer.

"You didn't happen to know those guys, did you?" he wondered.

"Daniel," Betty leaned her forehead against his.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Shut up," she said, planting soft, seductive kisses on his lips.


	9. Chapter 9

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"Hey, D? You got a package – it looks like it's from my dad," Betty came home from a Saturday afternoon of apartment shopping with Amanda and Christina.

"What would your dad be sending me?" Daniel wondered.

"I don't know. Mmmmm . . . maybe it's his empanadas! Now I'm jealous – he didn't send _me_ any!" she pouted.

"Relax. I haven't even opened it yet," he said, grabbing the package from her curious fingers.

He opened it up to find a letter along with two boxes, one very small and one medium:

 _Daniel,_

 _I had lunch with your mother the other day and she mentioned the situation with your grandmother's ring. I hope I am not overstepping my bounds, and I realize this cannot replace your family's heirloom, but I would like to offer you this turquoise ring that belonged to Betty's bisabuela._

 _She was Rosa's grandmother. Even though she and her husband did not have much, her husband worked very hard to purchase this ring for his bride-to-be. They had a very strong marriage that lasted for sixty-seven years, when she lost her husband to a stroke. They went through very hard times. And not knowing what their future held was scary, but the one thing that kept them together was their love for each other._

 _I know that you and my daughter have this same kind of love. I've witnessed it through your willingness to go above and beyond your means to help each other out. And I've noticed how upset my daughter gets when you two are fighting. I've seen the passion in her heart and the love in your eyes when she hugs you. I knew you were falling for my Betty the day you came to me before Hilda's wedding, asking about your 'friend'. You two might not have realized what you had for years but I could tell by these signs; the way you talked about each other, and how well you knew each other, that you were meant to be together._

 _Take care of her, Mijo, and make sure she takes care of you._

 _Te quero,_

 _Ignacio_

 _P.S. I also sent some of my empanadas and sopapillas. Make sure Betty shares them with you. And I promise I will make a trip to give you both cooking lessons soon. You'll starve in that country without them!_

Daniel blinked back a few tears in his eyes. He'd never had a true father-figure in his life. His dad was more concerned with his company and his brother to pay much attention to him. Unless of course it was to yell at him to be more like Alex. But Betty's father seemed to really listen to him, to care about him. He not only wanted his daughter to be happy and loved; he wanted that for his future son-in-law too. And for Ignacio to entrust a family heirloom to Daniel for his and Betty's relationship . . . he was overwhelmed with emotions.

"Babe, what did Papi say?" Betty asked, oblivious to the expression on his face. "Tell me those are his empanadas and sopapillas – they're the best! Daniel?"

Daniel slowly put down the letter and opened the small box to find a 14k white gold ring with a large oval cut turquoise stone with twelve diamonds surrounding it. He turned to Betty and took both of her hands.

"Betty, I know we're already engaged, but I want to make it official. We've been through so much together. You have always been the one person who stood by me no matter what I did or what I was going through. It doesn't matter where I came from, or how much money I have, or how famous I am. You love me for me - my background doesn't intimidate or impress you. You never hesitate to give me the hug or the encouragement I need. And you also never hesitate to let me know when I screw up. You put up with my annoying habits and make sure I take care of myself. You constantly keep me on my toes and make me want to be a better man. We've always had a connection . . . something so unique and special it couldn't be defined. When I found out you were leaving, I felt like a part of my heart was being ripped away. I realized you were the one person I couldn't live without – not just as an employee or a friend, but as so much more. You're the only girl who manages to make me laugh one minute and take my whole breath away the next. You're beautiful in every single way. You're everything to me and I promise I won't let a single day go by without trying to make you as happy as you have made me. I love you, Betty Suarez. Will you please be my wife?" he proposed.

"Yes, of course I will. _Yes!_ " Betty answered, flinging her arms around him so hard it almost knocked him over. "I never expected to get two proposals."

"You deserve it – especially after the first one," Daniel grinned and placed the ring on her finger as tears streamed down her face.

"Daniel, I didn't care. All that mattered was that you asked me," Betty assured him.

"It was half-assed, wasn't it?" he said, gently wiping her tears with the pads of his thumbs.

"A little," she consented. "But spontaneous, and one I'll never forget. Just like I won't forget this one either."

Daniel smiled and passionately pressed his lips against hers. When they finally came up for air, Betty studied the ring.

"Wait - is this what I think it is? Is this Abuela Linda's ring?" she asked.

"Was that your mom's grandma?" Daniel inquired.

"Yeah," she smiled, wistfully. "Mami used to tell me and Hilda stories about her all the time when we were little. And when she let me wear her ring – I used to pretend I was a princess getting ready for my wedding and Hilda was my old maid."

"You mean maid of honor?" he corrected.

"Yeah, well that's what we thought it was called when we were kids. Hilda also tied a toy caboose around my ankle and that was my 'train'," she smiled, sheepishly.

"Oh my god! And you think _I'm_ dumb sometimes!" he cracked.

" _Hey_ – we were kids! At least we had an excuse!" she countered.

"Point taken," he surrendered.

Betty stared down at the ring again.

"Is it okay?" he worried. "Because I can get you any ring you want, just say the word."

"No – it's perfect. You're perfect," she hugged him.

He held her close and kissed the top of her head, taking in the familiar smell of vanilla and jasmine.

"I hope we're together as long as your great-grandparents were," he said.

"Me too," Betty pulled back from their embrace and kissed him again.

"It was really great of your dad to send us the ring. We'll have to call him on Skype." Daniel said.

"Yeah, it was," she said.

"Sometimes I worried what he would really think of me being with you. He knows so many things that I've done," Daniel confessed. "I even threw up all over his house!"

"He also knows you're not that guy anymore, Daniel. You've helped our family through a lot of tough times. And you were always a good friend to me." Betty assured him.

"He always gave such great advice. I still have his number on speed dial from all the times I'd call him about a girl or life," he mused. "I went to him about you, too."

"You did? When?" Betty asked, intrigued.

"You know that time when we were fighting over moving backward? And you got so upset over me causing Henry to lose his job and dating Trista?" he asked.

"And you were mad at me for uninviting you as my date to the wedding? How could I forget? That was one of the worst fights we ever had." Betty recalled. "I went home that night and ate an entire batch of brownies, half a tube of cookie dough, and a whole bag of Doritos."

"Wow! You must've been more pissed at me than I thought," he smirked.

"You should've seen me when you wouldn't talk to me before I left for London," she remarked. "Hilda had to pry the pan of brownies out of my hands and put a lock on both the pantry and the fridge."

Daniel snorted, amused.

"So anyway, your dad kinda helped me see what an ass I was being. I didn't say who I was having issues with - I only gave hypotheticals. He asked me why I thought I was reacting the way I did. I told him I didn't know – that I felt a strange excitement when my 'friend', who was just a friend, asked me to be her date to an event," he continued.

"What did he say?" she asked.

"He asked me if I thought I might have feelings toward this 'friend' that were more," Daniel replied.

"Oh," Betty said. "I still can't believe how perceptive Papi can be sometimes."

"I immediately denied it, of course. But I told him that I had this other strange feeling of hurt when my 'friend' uninvited me in order to take her ex instead. I also mentioned that I had a sense that something was missing with another woman that I didn't feel when I was with my 'friend'," he recalled.

"What did he tell you?" Betty wondered.

"He told me that first I needed to do the right thing by my 'friend's' ex. Then I needed to take a good look at what I wanted in a relationship and honestly reevaluate what I really wanted from this 'friend'. He told me to be true to my heart instead of trying to make sense of it all with my head. That love doesn't always make sense, it just is." Daniel remembered.

"Do you think Papi knew it was us?" Betty gasped.

"Your dad's pretty smart. I didn't say names, but he just told me in the letter that he'd caught on," Daniel revealed. "Anyway, you know what happened from there."

"I went and planned my future without you, while you were starting to think about planning one for us together. That thing you said about all being right in the world – you meant that about us, too, didn't you?" she realized, her eyes widening as the guilt hit her again.

Daniel nodded.

" _Oh god!_ Baby, I'm so sorry I did that to you!" her face crumbled. Mortified, she leaned into his chest.

"B, it's okay, – you didn't know," he soothingly stroked her hair. " _I_ didn't even know exactly how I felt. I realized during Hilda's speech that I loved you beyond a doubt. But I wasn't sure if it was a romantic kind of love, yet. I thought we had time to figure that out."

"And then I had to go and ruin it," she sighed and stared down at the floor in shame.

Daniel gently lifted her chin up.

"Betty, look at me. You have to stop blaming yourself. It was my fault for not saying anything to you about it sooner. I kept chickening out; I was in denial. And you have absolutely no reason to feel guilty for wanting to do something for yourself for a change," he insisted.

"I keep thinking what could've happened to us if you had stayed in New York," she confessed, tears brimming in her eyes. "We might never have seen each other again."

"Hey, don't think like that. You and me, we're soul mates. One way or another, I know we would have found each other again," he assured her.

"We managed to find each other four years ago. So I guess you're right," Betty tried to think positively. "And at least we're here, now."

"And being here with you is better than I ever imagined," Daniel confessed.

He teased her bottom lip, then her top before plunging his tongue into her mouth in a kiss so passionate it made Betty's toes curl and her head spin. Her knees caved in and he had to keep her from falling.

"Baby, are you okay?" he asked, worried.

"I'm fine. Maybe we'd better sit down, though," she suggested.

Daniel nodded and carefully led her to the couch, his hand around her waist the whole time, in case she felt weak again. As Daniel pulled Betty onto his lap, she eyed the unopened package on the coffee table.

"So, what's in the other box?" she asked.

"Now I _know_ you're okay," Daniel chuckled.

" _You know!_ Tell me!" Betty demanded, shoving his chest.

"Go ahead and open it," he tried to keep a straight face, but couldn't hide the twinkle in his baby blue eyes.

"Oh my god – are these what I think they are?" she ripped the box open and jumped up and down while squealing. "They _are!_ _Eeeee!_ "

" _Jesus_ , Betty – you didn't get _that_ excited over the ring!" Daniel chuckled.

"Yeah, well, after Marc took away all my junk food and I had to fight him just to keep my case of Thin Mints for 'emergencies only', you can understand my reaction," she excused, sitting back down on his lap.

"You have a whole _case_ of Thin Mints?!" his eyes widened.

"Yeah, they're in the freezer," she shrugged and noticed his blank expression. "Didn't you notice the big box? Why am I asking that – you never notice anything unless it says 'Hi Daniel, here I am!'"

"Hey – that's . . . so true," he reluctantly admitted.

Betty lovingly kissed his cheek, amused.

"Anyway, I can ration them out a box per month and never run out," she explained.

"You're adorable," he grinned.

Betty shyly smiled and reached for an empanada.

"Just remember you have to share – I have it in writing from your dad," he held up the letter.

"Daniel, when have I _not_ shared anything with you?" she asked, innocently.

"There _was_ that one time when you were mad at me for not reading your essay. And what happened to the dozen cupcakes your sister sent us a couple of weeks ago?" Daniel reminded her. "Seems like I had two and you hid the rest from Marc and binged on them for your 3am snacks."

" _Sorry . . ._ I couldn't help it. I've been having the munchies lately," Betty sheepishly excused. "I'll have Hilda send you your own special box – I promise."

"And we can share these equally?" Daniel bargained.

"Deal," she agreed, breaking off a piece of a sopapilla and feeding it to him.

"God, these are good," he groaned.

"Told ya. Papi serves them with honey or sugar and cinnamon, but I love them plain," she said.

"I think I could eat them either way," Daniel commented. "We should serve these at the rehearsal dinner."

"And the empanadas for dessert," Betty added, contentedly settling into him.

"Exactly," he agreed as they proceeded to enjoy the pastries and discuss details about their wedding.


	10. Chapter 10

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"Bad news, ladies – former MODE playboy Daniel Meade is officially off the market. Sources spotted him in London out with girlfriend and budding new EIC of London's Perception, Betty Suarez. Let's just say, to quote Daniel himself that 'love is a fashion that never goes out of style'," Suzuki announced on the latest edition of Fashion Buzz re-airing that morning in London.

Photos of Daniel and Betty having a cozy lunch outside of Gio's deli, kissing in front of the London Eye and holding hands on the Tower Bridge the past Sunday appeared.

"Ms. Suarez wore a pink Henri Bendel scarf, black Michael Kors wedges, and carried a black Chanel tote that complemented her fitted grey t-shirt, green military jacket, and boot cut DKNY jeans. She was also sporting mysterious new bling in the form of a turquoise and diamond ring - very vintage and very chique - not your typical engagement jewel. However, this is no typical couple by any means. Zero news as to when and where the nuptials will take place, but we're definitely dying to find out. Speaking of dying, Daniel's previous marriage to one-time MODE cover model Molly ended in her devastating demise, so we only wish the best for the happy new couple. Congratulations, Detty! Let's hope your marriage outlasts the last one!" Suzuki remarked before moving on to another topic.

"I'm not sure whether to be flattered or offended," Daniel reacted to the latest gossip on Fashion Buzz as he sipped his morning coffee.

"Me neither. And he gave us a _name?!_ " Betty commented, skeptically, taking a bite of her raisin bagel.

Daniel scoffed.

"Well it doesn't roll off your tongue like Brangelina, but then again I preferred Brennifer, anyway," he remarked.

"Seriously, Daniel, this must be hard for you. We haven't really talked about Molly since we . . . actually not since the Bahamas."

"Yeah . . . um . . . can we just leave it like that?" he asked.

"Daniel, I need you to let me in. Tell me how you feel about this – about us. If you're having second thoughts, if the mention of Molly has made you regret anything please tell me. I'll understand completely. She was your wife and you didn't choose to leave her – neither of you were given a choice at all. This is the first serious relationship you've had since.

Daniel sighed.

"Betty, a part of me will always love Molly," he confessed. "But the way I loved her and the way I love you are completely different."

"I get it . . . she was special. While you love me, too, it's not the same," Betty said, her voice shaking. She hated being this vulnerable. She thought she'd grown enough to be more confident in herself. But she knew Daniel's world fell apart when he'd lost Molly and somehow a tiny part of her still felt she could never compare to her memory. And another part felt guilty for even trying.

"No, it isn't," he agreed. "Because when I'm with you, I feel so much more . . . I'm home, Betty. I don't feel like I have to impress you or be afraid that my past will scare you away. I know you and you know me. We had four years of building a solid foundation for our relationship. It was almost like we were already married in a way – well, minus the sex of course. Molly and I never had the opportunity to have that. I only had time to make her happy for the last few weeks of her life before she was taken away from me."

"Do you ever wonder 'what if'?" she asked.

He hesitated, unsure of how to explain his answer without hurting her.

"Yeah, when I first lost her, I used to question it every day. I wondered what if we had gone to Tahiti? What if we had had kids? What would they have looked like and if I would've been as great a dad as Molly would've been as a mom? But since I've been with you, I only think about us . . . about _our_ future . . . what _our_ kids would look like . . . what kind of father I'd be to _them._ And I have no doubt you'll make a wonderful mother. You know why I only think about us? Because I know in my heart that this is where I'm meant to be."

"Daniel," Betty tried to stop him.

"Just hear me out, okay?" he requested. "Molly told me before she died that she wanted me to find someone who would make me happy. It was difficult to have that discussion – for both of us. But she really liked you Betty. You unselfishly transformed your YETI project into our wedding, and did so many other things for both of us including saving me from that cult after she died. I think she would have approved."

Betty smiled timidly and lowered her head. She had trouble imagining anyone 'approving' of their significant other moving on with someone new after they had died. She'd even had issues with Elena being with her father, to begin with. She knew it was stupid, but seeing her father move on with someone else felt like he was forgetting her mother, even replacing her. But she guessed that some people really did feel the ones left behind should find happiness with others. And Daniel's situation was different. He and Molly were still so young; they hadn't had time to build a life together. They'd barely known each other comparatively speaking. Still, she couldn't help feeling slightly guilty when she thought about it.

"All those screwed up relationships and every person that I've lost has led me to you. You have been there the whole time and now we finally have our chance with each other," he said, squeezing her hand. "I can't change what happened in the past, but I can look forward to the future and my future is with you."

Betty was at a loss for words so she gently ran her hand through his hair and cupped his chin, giving him a sweet kiss.

"I never told you this, but the first real kiss you and I had – I felt something I'd never felt with anyone," he confessed. "I've kissed a lot of girls, but the fire, the spark with you was more intense than I'd ever experienced. You're the one for me, Betty, in every single way. Don't question that. I think you always were. We both just needed time to realize what we had."

"Daniel, you're the one for me, too. I just wanted to make sure _you_ were sure. I want you to be happy. I – I'm gonna be sick," Betty told him before clutching her stomach and running to the bathroom.

As she heaved into the toilet, she felt his hand on her shoulder.

"I hope this doesn't have anything to do with our conversation," he teased.

" _Daniel . . ._ are you seriously making jokes right now?" she complained, and threw up again.

"Sorry," he apologized, pulling her hair back from her face and rubbing her back.

"You're really good at this," she said in between.

"I, uh, I had a lot of practice," Daniel explained.

"With Molly?" Betty assumed.

"Yeah," he said. "Was it those egg rolls last night? Or maybe the cream cheese?"

"Maybe," she lifted her head up. "But please don't say 'egg' right now."

The very thought of them made her even more nauseated.

Daniel gently wiped her forehead with a cold damp cloth and handed her a glass of water.

"Or maybe you're coming down with something?" he guessed. "Want me to call Lindsay and Stella so you can play Mrs. Sickington today? I'll be Dr. McSexy?"

She hated to miss work. They were brainstorming concepts for the next issue and she wasn't sure her creative director, Millicent, was capable of staying true to the magazine. But it was only for one day, and her assistant, Stella, wasn't afraid of letting Millicent know if her ideas were off track. Plus, she knew she wouldn't be any good to them if she was constantly running to bathroom all day long. And if it wasn't food poisoning, she didn't want to spread her sickness around the rest of the office.

"Please," she surrendered, heaving into the toilet again. "But you don't have to stay – you've got that shoot with the polo team."

"Liam and Harry can handle it. Harry has my notes on the concept," Daniel told her.

"Are you sure?" Betty asked. "I've taken care of myself before. I'm not a baby, like you always are."

"Hey, there is nothing wrong with wanting some attention when you don't feel good," Daniel defended.

"You're right. But I can't let you call off. It's bad enough that I am," she said. "I love you for offering, though."

"At least let me get you comfortable first," Daniel said, helping her up and letting her lean on him as she brushed her teeth. He helped her change into some pjs and carried her into their bedroom against her protests. He fluffed her pillows and tucked her in, then briefly left the room. When he came back, he placed some gingerale, water, crackers, and a disposable bowl in case of an emergency on her nightstand, and handed her the remote.

"Don't forget to -" he began.

"Drink lots of fluids so I won't dehydrate? Thank you," Betty weakly smiled.

"Feel better, baby. I love you more than anything," he told her, tenderly kissing her forehead. "Remember that."

"Love you, too, babe," she managed before closing her eyes, his words comforting her doubts and fears of losing him. However, she hoped a nap would make her feel better physically.

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A week later, Betty sprung out of bed, a revelation crossing her mind like a bolt of lightning. It all made sense – the nausea, the constant need to snack, the mood swings, the dizziness, and to top it off, she was late. Why hadn't it occurred to her earlier? Maybe because she hadn't been this sick before.

She searched under the cabinet of the bathroom sink and found a test. After the drugstore fiasco with Matt, she made a habit of keeping an extra around just in case. Nervously, she opened the box and followed the directions, waiting the grueling minutes for the results.

Why was it that this always seemed to happen to her at the wrong time in her life? It was either with the wrong guy or when she was just starting her dream job . . . She took a deep breath and checked the results . . . Positive. _Holy shit!_ She was so freakin' screwed! What was she going to tell Daniel? She knew he wanted kids, but _now?_ They were only recently engaged, it's not like they'd had much time to themselves as a couple – a little over a month to be exact. She stepped in the shower and attempted to distract herself from the problem, but was unsuccessful.

"Morning, butterfly queen. You feeling any better?" Daniel greeted her, coming behind her in the shower. He wrapped his arms around her waist and planted kisses down her neck, receiving no response. "Betty?"

"I'm late," she said absently, a dazed expression on her face.

"It's okay, B – you're the boss – you're allowed to be a little late," he responded, massaging her breasts, hoping for a more positive response.

"Ow!" she exclaimed, gently pushing his hands away from her. "I'm not late for a meeting, D – I'm _late_ late."

" _That_ late?" his eyes widened.

"Yes, _that_ late," she confirmed, turning around. "I'm pregnant. I took the test, I haven't gotten my period, I've been feeling sick multiple mornings – all day if you count that time last week, I'm hungry all the time, my hormones are all over the place, and my boobs are beginning to feel sore – and yes, I said 'boobs'."

"And you're sure you read the test correctly?" he asked.

"I'd better have – otherwise that Lasik eye surgery I just got was a rip-off!" she scoffed.

"Betty, this is incredible!" he exclaimed, fervently kissing her.

" _Incredible?_ Daniel, this is a disaster! You realize in another seven or eight months an actual little person will come out, right - one that poops and pees and cries all the time? One that we'll be responsible for at least the next eighteen years of their life; is this what you really want?" she asked, shocked that he wasn't as freaked out as she was. "Why do you Meade men have to be so damn fertile?!"

"Okay, so maybe it isn't the perfect time, but it _is_ with the perfect woman," he pointed out to her. "There's no one else I'd rather have as the mother of my child."

"And I couldn't imagine a better father – you were so good with DJ, and Justin, and little William," she smiled. "But are you sure you're okay with this?"

"Positive. I can't think of anything better than a little you and me," he reassured her.

"I guess it would be nice," she agreed, staring down at her slow-growing baby bump, running her hand over it. Amanda had been referring to it as 'Betty Weight', claiming it happened to practically everyone after they got engaged or married. "I _have_ wanted a baby . . . someday. Only someday's come a lot sooner than I expected."

"When exactly do you think it happened?" Daniel asked, putting his hand on top of hers. "I mean, we've been having _a lot_ of sex. I thought Amanda and I were bad, but -"

" _Daniel!_ Not the time! And _ewwww!_ You're bringing up Amanda? Seriously?!" Betty stopped him.

"I'm sorry! I was just trying to figure it out and my mind wandered . . ." he excused.

Betty exhaled deeply, trying not to explode. She knew Daniel's bringing up Amanda wasn't about residual feelings - it was simply comparison. But of all the times to bring up the subject of his sex life with other women . . .

"Anyway . . . I was thinking it was that day when you were moving in – our first time – well _times_ together. We had sex _at least_ seven times. Maybe I forgot to take the pill? _Oh, shit_ \- what if I did?! We didn't use anything else. I mean, we knew we both hadn't been with anyone else in months and were committed to each other. I jumped you like you were the last man on earth. What the hell was I thinking?! I wasn't thinking – I had the first issue to work on, and you were moving in, and at that point you weren't just Daniel anymore, you were _Daniel._ All of a sudden every little thing you did seemed to drive me crazy and block out any logical thought . . . Maybe with all the chaos and change, I didn't remember . . . I'm so sorry, Daniel," Betty apologized.

"Baby, you have _nothing_ to apologize for. We created this life _together_. And even though it wasn't intentional, it was still out of love and I'm glad we did," he beamed with pride. "So I drive you crazy, huh?"

"Not always in a good way," she clarified, not in the mood for flirting at the moment. Flirting led to kissing and kissing led to sex and sex led to where they were right then.

Daniel backed off, catching her vibe that implied it wasn't the time.

"What about my career? Lindsay will _hate_ me," she worried, stepping out of the shower and grabbing her towel.

Daniel picked up the shampoo and starting washing his hair.

"No he won't. He's a good man and he's smart. He wouldn't have hired you if he wasn't. I'm sure he'll understand and be happy for us. Besides, he'd be an idiot to let you go or cause you any trouble." he said with confidence, lathering his body with soap. "And you're pregnant, not an invalid. Most women can do their jobs until the day they give birth."

"You're right. I can do this. It'll all work out," Betty coached herself.

"Hey, I'm in this, too. You're not alone, Betty," Daniel reminded her as he got out of the shower. "I can stay home and take care of the baby, if you need me to."

" _Oh my god_ – Daniel, I was only worrying about the pregnancy itself - I wasn't even thinking about after! What about _your_ career? I can't let you quit your new job. I know deep down that you're proud to have gotten something on your own. You've come so far since I've met you and you deserve to be happy. How the hell are we gonna do this?" Betty groaned; burying her face in his chest as the tears streamed down her face.

"We'll figure things out, B – I promise." Daniel sighed, stroking her damp hair. "And I _am_ happy – with _you_. We're going to be a family. Nothing's more important to me than you and this little girl or guy."

Betty looked up with him as if she were about to burst into tears all over again, only kissed him with every emotion inside her instead.

"What was that for?" he wondered.

"For being you," she sniffled and formed a wistful smile. "You always manage to calm me down and make things okay."

Daniel exhaled a deep sigh, holding Betty close. They certainly had another long and eventful road ahead of them, but he couldn't have been happier knowing they were still on that journey together.


	11. Chapter 11

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Everything was going smoothly. Lindsay had been very accommodating regarding the pregnancy and genuinely happy for them both. In August, Daniel and Betty had had a beautiful, intimate wedding ceremony with only their closest family and friends in Paris, dodging any media. After having talked with England National Football team captain Rio Ferdinand, who was a big supporter of his music, Daniel had even managed to pull some connections and get new artist Ed Sheeran to sing at their reception.

They honeymooned in Paris for two weeks, taking walks along the Champs-Elysees eating at cafes and purchasing some of the latest fashion trends. They viewed the Eiffel Tower, explored the Louvre, saw the Arc de Triomphe, Versailles, and Notre Dame as well as many other iconic landmarks. Of course they also spent an abundant time in bed enjoying French pastries, cuisine, and each other. It was so perfect that if they hadn't had the pictures to prove it, he would have sworn it was a dream.

Months later, Betty's and Daniel's magazines continued to be successful. Betty and their baby were a healthy eight months along and growing. Neither of them could have asked for anything more.

"So. I already gave you the flight times and I'll be on the Dunne jet with Amanda, Stella, and James. We'll be at the United Nations most of the time, covering the launch of UN Women. And Amanda and I are staying with Papi - you already have his number . . ." Betty went over the list in her mind.

"And you should be back on Sunday morning at 6am. Got it," Daniel said. "Remind me again why Amanda's going? She's not even a Dunne employee."

"She claims I need a personal stylist since I'm married to a celebrity and am becoming one myself because of Perception," Betty rolled her eyes. "Plus, she wants an excuse to see Marc and her dad."

"Well, at least she can keep an eye on you and the baby and make sure you don't overdo it," Daniel replied.

"This is Amanda we're talking about, right?" she gave her husband a skeptical look. "And she's five months pregnant, herself. If anything, _I'll_ be the one looking out for _her._ "

"You have a point, as usual . . ." he conceded. "I still can't believe that you and Amanda and Hilda are all pregnant at the same time. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you girls had some sort of conspiracy going."

"Ha. Ha," Betty smirked, unamused.

"So do you -" he began.

"Have my pre-natal vitamins? In my carry-on," she read his mind.

"And the -" he started to add.

"Ipod with the songs you sang for the baby?" she finished. "Also in my carry-on, along with some pressure stockings just in case my legs start bugging me."

Daniel leaned down and caressed her rapidly growing stomach. At 32 weeks along, she barely made the cut-off regulations for flying.

"Now you listen to Mommy and don't make her sick on the plane. Be good and stay safe. I love you, little guy, and we'll talk when you get back," he told the baby.

"Still maintaining it's a boy, I see," she observed, amused.

"The odds are greater, given the history of the Meade family," he argued. "And every time you've had an ultrasound, he's been in such weird positions we haven't been able to tell for sure."

Betty rolled her eyes at him, and went back to worrying if she'd forgotten to tell Daniel anything else.

"I guess it's a good thing we painted the nursery light green with pale yellow accents and have a zoo animal theme. It'll work for a girl, too. But if you go out buying any more giant realistic stuffed animals, the baby won't be able to even sleep in there. He or she's already got a full menagerie plus everything else we need, thanks to the amazing shower Christina threw for the three of us. And of course Marc had to get a mama gorilla with glasses and a red poncho named Bettyzilla," she mused.

"He wouldn't be Marc if he didn't," Daniel smirked. "Don't forget Amanda and the mama elephant named Betty."

"Yeah . . . They love us, though," she smiled.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you? I could take off a few days?" he offered. "I just worry about you traveling so late in the pregnancy. I don't want anything to happen to you two."

"No – don't even think about it! I'll be fine," she insisted as they got into the elevator. "It's a private plane, so I can stretch out as much as I want and don't have to worry about flying with a bunch of annoying, germ-carrying strangers. And Lindsay made sure we're taking the new jet that has the beds installed in it – which was very sweet of him."

"It was," Daniel agreed, grateful that their boss was such a kind and caring man.

"You have that shoot with David Beckham that you had to fight Spirit Sports for. I can't let you miss that," Betty said.

"Guess it pays to have connections with his wife," Daniel smiled.

"Very true. And don't forget, you promised me that autograph since I'm going to miss meeting him," she reminded him.

"I won't. I know _my_ wife would kill me if I didn't get a memento from her celebrity boyfriend," he teased as they got off the elevator.

"Yes she would. But there's no need to get jealous, because _you_ are my real celebrity _husband_ ," Betty teased his bottom lip, pulling him closer to her one last time - well as close as possible given her protruding belly. "I'm going to miss you."

"Not as much as I'll miss you," Daniel muttered into her lips and gave her one final send-off kiss she'd never forget. Not to mention giving their sweet, elderly neighbor, Mrs. Lockhart, an eyeful.

"Sorry, Mrs. Lockhart," Betty apologized, blushing.

"Yeah, sorry," Daniel said.

"Don't fret about it, loves. It's refreshing to see two young people madly in love. And be sure to bring that little one by to see her Granny Mary once she's born," the older woman replied.

"We will," they promised before she left.

"There you go, driving me crazy again," Betty shoved his chest.

"Mission accomplished," he flirted, running his hands all over her again.

"Easy there, Tom Cruise. I want to be able to still catch my flight without people knowing why I have a stupid grin on my face," she kissed his boyish smile.

"Can't blame a guy for trying," Daniel innocently shrugged.

"What am I gonna do with you?" Betty smiled.

"Anything you want, baby," he replied with a sexy stare.

"You're incorrigible," she shook her head and pulled him toward the door. "C'mon, before you end up getting me in trouble."

She carefully walked down the steps of their building, maneuvering herself into her Dunne town car with her husband's help.

"I love you, D," Betty said, staring into her husband's entrancing blue eyes.

"I love you, too, B," he told her. "More than anything."

Even after all this time, she still blushed at those words. _Damn_ , she was adorable.

"I'll call you when I get there," she promised.

Daniel nodded, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing her stomach before letting go.

"Bye, butterfly," he smiled and closed the door.

As he watched her car drive off, he already missed her.

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It was 5pm and Daniel wondered why Betty hadn't called him yet. Her flight was supposed to get in at 3:30pm. Maybe she'd gotten distracted with getting settled at her dad's or the schedule for the day? No, it wasn't like her not to call him. Even before they were together, she would always call to let him know she'd arrived safely. He'd tried leaving her messages, both text and voice, but no response.

Maybe this was payback for him not answering hers when she first decided to move to London? No. Betty had never been the vindictive type – at least not with him, anyway. Kimmie Keegan had been another story. He'd been snowed by her at first, but after a while he could see the bitch had it coming. He understood why Betty, Amanda, Marc had teamed up against her – even then, Betty had tried to save her from sabotaging herself in the end.

Speaking of Amanda, he'd tried to call her, Betty's assistant, and the photographer and nothing. Was there another blackout? He hoped not. It was February and freezing outside. He was about to call Ignacio when his phone rang.

"Betty?" he said, without even looking. "Baby I was so worried, what happened?"

"No. Daniel, it's Tyler," his brother said.

Daniel knew that if his half-brother was bothering to call him, something was really wrong. It's not that they were on bad terms anymore. They had been civil for a while now – even with the ring fiasco. He was mature enough to know it wasn't Tyler's fault. But they weren't exactly best buds either.

"Tyler. Oh. Sorry. Hey, have you heard from Amanda?" he asked.

"No. I was just calling to see if you'd heard from Betty," Tyler answered.

"No. I've been trying to reach her all afternoon. I was just about to call her dad. She usually lets me know she's made it by now," Daniel said.

"Amanda's not as reliable about those kinda things. Which is why I thought I'd call you," Tyler explained. "Betty seems to be more . . . put together if you know what I mean."

"Yeah . . . I guess that's why she made such a good assistant. I could never keep my schedule straight if it wasn't for her. She had calendars and lists and all kinds of crap," he mused. "I still have to buy a gift six months ahead of time to make sure I don't forget her birthday."

"That's pretty bad, man," Tyler laughed then went back to their problem. "Do you think we should be worried?"

"I don't know. Let me call Ignacio and -" Daniel told him when he was interrupted by his assistant rushing into his office. "Hold on a sec."

"Daniel?!" Harry said, frantically. "Flip on the telly - now!"

Daniel did as his assistant requested then froze for a moment in shock.

"T-Tyler, y-you'd better sit down . . . and turn on the TV. I think we might have the answer about our wives," Daniel said, his heart sinking to the ground.


	12. Chapter 12

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Everything after that moment seemed to move in slow motion. The private plane ride for the family members of the victims seemed to take forever. MODE London had generously provided their jet, since chartering the Meade jet would have taken too long.

While still in mid-air news was received that all passengers and the pilot had been found in the East River. Speculation of the crash was that faulty landing gear was involved. However, details and information on how critical any of the victims were was yet to be determined. He knew Betty's family was standing by, along with his mom, Marc, and even Wilhelmina.

Daniel found some relief in knowing they were all accounted for. But imagining every complication that could have occurred was too much. That was his wife and his unborn child – not to mention his sister-in-law and unborn niece or nephew. And he knew the others, too – even went to parties or had lunch with them.

He found some comfort in the fact that no one else on the plane was handling the situation well, either. Actually, he appeared to be one of the calmer ones even though he was far from it on the inside. He couldn't pace on the plane like he normally would if he were on the ground in this type of situation. So instead, he nervously bounced his knee up and down and tapped his fingers to a random beat in his head. Only Tyler told him to 'shut the hell up and stop acting like a god damned human beat box'. Oddly, it was the first time he'd felt like Tyler truly was his brother. Snark really did run on his mother's side, apparently.

It was a good thing Daniel was feeling closer to Tyler, because not long after Tyler snapped at him, he began searching the plane for a drink. He definitely had to get into big brother mode for that.

"Get the hell off me, Daniel – I need this!" Tyler yelled while they were in the kitchen.

"Bullshit!" Daniel exclaimed, grabbing the tiny bottle of liquor out of his hands and pouring it down the sink. He proceeded to do the same with all of the remaining alcohol. "You've been sober for almost a year now. You've got a wife and a kid on the way – don't screw that up with this shit! It's not worth it!"

"How the hell would _you_ know?!" he snapped.

"Because I've been there before – not with alcohol, but with drugs. Sex, too. Actually the pills were to get over the sex and that only led to almost killing Alexis and me," Daniel revealed.

"What?!" Tyler asked, shocked.

"It was a car accident . . . Alexis was driving me in Dad's car to a rehab facility . . . I only had some cuts and bruises and a broken leg, but Alexis was in a coma. I could barely even look at her for the longest time. I stared at her through the ICU window, but I never was able to bring myself to go in. Betty finally convinced me to . . . to talk to her . . . she said it helped. When Alexis finally woke up she didn't even recognize herself. She still thought she was Alex. She spent hours just squeezing her boobs; it's hilarious now, but at the time it was depressing. Her mind had taken her back to a time when we were all happier – mom and dad were still together. Mom wasn't in jail, and Dad wasn't about to marry Wilhelmina. And even though the accident made my dad wake the hell up and accept his child for who he/she was, I would do anything to take back what happened," Daniel confessed. "I couldn't even tell her it was my fault it at first. When I finally did, I was surprised she forgave me."

"Wow . . . nobody ever told me about that. It must've been awful. I know I still feel guilty for shooting Wilhelmina," he said.

"Of course, she ended up telling me later that before the accident she had hired a hit man to kill our dad. Apparently he cut the brakes his car. But the point is it was still my fault in a way. You can't let your addiction take over, Tyler. It not only affects you, it affects everyone around you – sometimes in ways you can't ever change," he told his younger brother.

"I get it," Tyler agreed, slumping down on the floor. "I'm just so messed up right now. I can't get these horrible pictures out of my head of Amanda . . . and Betty . . . and the others – struggling to survive for themselves and for the lives of our unborn children. What if they don't make it?"

Daniel sat down and put his arm around him.

"Hey, I know our girls. They're fighters – believe me. With all the books she reads Betty probably found a way to drag everyone out of the plane to swim or float to safety, with Amanda right behind her desperate to rescue their clothes, too," Daniel laughed until he began to cry.

Tyler was right along with him.

"Now _I_ need a drink," Daniel joked as he wiped the tears from his eyes and got two cans out of the fridge. "Want one?"

Then he saw the look of shock and confusion on his brother's face.

"It's gingerale. I need something to settle my stomach," he clarified.

"Oh. Yeah, sure," Tyler took the can and breathed a sigh of relief. "So what now?"

"We drink and we wait," Daniel replied, unsure if he could withstand the latter much longer.

"You got anymore family stories to tell?" Tyler asked. "Wait, I've wanted to know the truth about this ever since Amanda told me. Did you really light yourself on fire for Betty?"

"Not intentionally, but yeah," Daniel answered, sheepishly. "I was trying to burn her release form for her contract and things got out of hand. Instead of looking cool, I looked like a complete jackass. Even after that, I was still in denial about being in love with her until Mom practically hit me over the head with it."

"She definitely doesn't sugarcoat things, does she?" he laughed.

"Nope. She calls you on your shit every time," Daniel smiled. "You'll get used to it."

"So what was it like when you and Alexis were younger and she was your brother?" Tyler wondered.

"Pretty much the same as we are now – competitive, constantly arguing. But when things got rough, we stuck by each other," he said. "That reminds me, I need to call her and DJ when we find out more about Betty and Amanda."

"You'd think we'd know something by now," Tyler sighed.

Daniel nodded in agreement, hoping for the best.

"Daniel?" Lindsay pulled back the curtain to the kitchen. "Sorry to bother, but there appears to be more news on the crash."

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Daniel sat in Betty's ICU room completely overwhelmed. She and the baby had suffered from hypothermia, a concussion, a dislocated shoulder, and some minor cuts and bruises. The doctors had been able to bring her body temperature up in time. She was stable; however, she still hadn't regained consciousness yet.

Amanda and her baby were doing alright. She and the others had also suffered from hypothermia and various breaks. Hers was a fractured tibia which had required extensive surgery. But everyone was conscious and well, considering.

"Hey, B. You know, you were the one who told me that talking to coma patients helped, so here I am . . . Why the hell did this have to happen to us?" he took her hand in his and kissed it. "Things were going so perfect . . . was that it? All our good luck had to run out sometime, right?"

All Daniel could hear was the hissing of the ventilator and the beeping of the heart monitors for both her and the baby.

"You need to wake up, baby. We've got a little one just waiting to be born. I need you. I can't live without you, Betty. I'll do anything, just please wake up for me. I love you so much."

Still no response. He lovingly kissed her forehead and moved over to her stomach, beginning to talk to their unborn child.

"You have to hold on little guy . . . hey, I'll even admit you could be a girl if your mom would wake up. She's a force of sunshine to be reckoned with; just like I'm sure you will be, too. You both are so strong and I'm so proud of you. I can't wait to hold you and teach you everything I know . . . which isn't a whole lot, compared to your mom. But I do know how to play basketball and lots of other sports. I'll take you to see some games, and teach you how to ride a bike. Or if you're into Broadway shows and fashion, I know a lot about that, too – well the fashion at least. You might have to talk to your cousin, Justin, about Broadway. But no matter what, I promise I'll always be there for you and support you for who you are," he kissed her stomach.

"You have nothing to be afraid of, sweetheart. You're nothing like Bradford when it comes to being a father," Claire stepped into the room. "DJ would have been lucky to have been raised by you. And you are a wonderful uncle to your nephews."

"Mom!" Daniel greeted her with a hug. "I thought you'd gone home?"

"And miss checking up on my family?" she said. "How is she?"

"No change. But they didn't let me in here until a few hours ago, so . . ." he responded. "Have you seen Amanda?"

"Yes, she's recovering nicely – already calling the nurses her 'bitches'. Thankfully, Tyler's trying to blame the medication for causing her attitude. I'm so glad she and the baby are alright, though. She keeps asking to see Betty, but the doctor doesn't believe she should be moving around for a few more days," Claire answered. "Even then, only in a wheelchair."

"Maybe we can set something up on Skype. I think hearing her voice could help them both," Daniel suggested.

"I agree . . . I see you and Tyler aren't mortal enemies anymore," she observed.

"Mom, you're exaggerating. We've been civil with each other for a while now. But, yeah, I'll admit that the accident brought us closer. We had a long talk on the plane," Daniel confessed.

"I'm so proud of you both. You need your family in times like these," Claire hugged her son. "Alexis and DJ will be here this weekend. They're taking our jet and Christina will be coming with them."

"Good," he said. "Maybe by then, Betty will be awake and able to run interference between me and Alex."

Claire sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I never understood why you two couldn't get along. And Daniel, darling, you realize there's a chance -" she began.

"Don't say it – don't even _think_ it! She _will_ wake up. She'll be fine. She has to be!" he exclaimed, adamantly, as his voice cracked. He tried not to cry, but the tears came streaming down his face beyond his control.

Claire held her son tight and rubbed his back.

"Shhh . . . It's okay, sweetheart. We're going to fight this, I promise," she told him. "Why don't you go get some coffee and something to eat? I'll stay with her."

Daniel let go and nodded. Maybe it would be good to take a break. He hadn't eaten in hours and it would be a good distraction. As he went out the door he ran into Ignacio.

"Hey, Daniel," he said. "I thought you might be hungry, so I made you some fajitas."

"Wow, thanks! You didn't have to do that. You're going through a lot right now, too," Daniel said.

"When things go wrong, I cook. It's a good stress reliever. Why don't we go to the cafeteria?" his father-in-law suggested.

"Okay," he agreed.

"How are you doing, Mijo?" he asked along the way.

"I'm okay, I guess," he politely responded.

"Daniel, you don't have to hide your feelings. You're part of my family. I can tell you are worried about my daughter simply by looking at you," Ignacio told him.

"Thank you . . . I am worried. I can't sleep . . . what if she doesn't wake up? What if we lose them? I just don't know how to stop thinking those thoughts. If Betty were awake, she'd be giving me one of her pep talks right now, telling me to stay positive in that cute, perky voice of hers," he smiled, sitting down at a table.

"Maybe you should listen to that voice then? Think about what Betty would do and it might help you make it through," Ignacio advised, handing him the containers of food. "I'd suggest cooking, but you two still need a few more lessons before you're ready to even make a simple quesadilla."

Daniel laughed and took a bite of his fajita.

"You know, after you came and taught us some things, Betty attempted to make dinner for me. You should've seen her. She was running around, being all secretive, telling me not to peek and not to help her. She actually shoved me out the door at one point and told me to come back in an hour . . ." Daniel mused. "When I came back, the spaghetti was in one big charred clump, the sauce was burned, the oven was on fire, and Betty's hair was singed."

"Ay, dios mio!" Ignacio chuckled.

"I vowed never to leave her alone in the kitchen again!" Daniel laughed. "God, I miss her! I mean I know she's still here, but she's not. I need to hear her voice – even if it's yelling at me to stop leaving empty cartons of milk in the fridge or to put down the toilet seat."

"I know what you mean. I miss her calling me to remind me to take my medicine or to put down my cup of coffee," Ignacio shook his head. "It'll be okay, Mijo. My Betty's a fighter, just like her mother. Rosa never gave up. And we can't either."

Daniel nodded, finishing his last bite of food.

"Come on, I promised Amanda I would bring her some of my empanadas," Ignacio said, getting up from the table.

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When he got back, he noticed his mother was gone and Marc was with Betty instead. He sat outside to give them some privacy. Marc was such a pain in the ass sometimes. He and Betty had a good friendship, though - more so now that she was no longer a threat to his career. But that was Marc for you.

"You really know how to make an entrance, don't you? Plane crash, coma while carrying Baby Bettyzilla . . . How dare you upstage me?! No, seriously. Listen, my little Chimichanga. You have got to wake up! I can't take it anymore. You, Mandi, Baby Meade, Baby Hartley – it's too much! I feel like I'm stuck in one of those telenovelas your dad watches. FYI, in case you haven't been paying attention, Carlos is slipping it to Juan, while still engaged to Marisol, and Marisol still hasn't told her sister that she's really her brother. Oh and you'll never believe this! Julio isn't really a priest – he's a prostitute hiding from la policia. Ay dios mio! You've got me habla españoling! Do you see what I go through for you? When you get out of here you owe me big time, Suarez! Like Pinkberry and a spa day!"

He went over and touched Betty's belly.

"Hey, Baby Gaga, It's your Uncle Marc. There are so many people who can't wait to meet you and rescue you from the fashion disaster your mom used to be. Prada knows she'll make those same mistakes with you if we don't stop her. Meantime, you have got to be strong and fight like your Mexican Mama. We love you both," Marc sniffled and wiped tears from his eyes. He kissed Betty's cheek. "I'll be back tomorrow with your Papi's enchiladas, my Chubby Chalupa. The smell of anything greasy, spicy, and full of lard usually gets your attention. It's like coaxing Mandi with a Gucci bag. Ta!"

Marc came out of her room and saw Daniel.

"Hey, any change?" Daniel asked.

"Nada. I tried drama, I tried insults, I tried guilt, I tried thoughts of food, I even tried – _ulchh . . ._ feelings. _Nothing!_ " Marc sighed.

"Thanks for being here, Marc. You're a good friend," Daniel told him.

Marc humbly smiled.

"I'll stop by tomorrow. Hilda mentioned something about setting up a schedule for all of us to go in shifts so she and Mandi won't ever be like Celine Dion," Marc said.

"That's a good idea. I'm grateful to all of you for being there for us," Daniel said.

" _Pssh!_ Don't go getting all Whitney on me. I can only take so many emotions in one day," he said when his phone rang. "It's Troy – gotta go."

Daniel nodded and went back into Betty's room.

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It had been three weeks since the accident. The investigation had confirmed suspicions of faulty landing gear. The mechanism that expanded the wheels had gotten stuck and therefore the pilot felt he had to circle and attempt to gently land in the river to avoid a bigger impact. Apparently whoever did the final inspection before take-off just assumed since it was a brand new jet that everything was in good condition. Lindsay was prepared to sue all who were responsible and encouraged everyone to follow suit.

Daniel wanted to kill the irresponsible bastard and sue the hell out of him, but he knew it wouldn't help bring Betty back to him and money wasn't an issue for him. But if Lindsay needed a team effort to win, then he was with him.

Fashion Buzz was at the hospital every few days since the accident with a Betty & Baby Watch segment. Suzuki was surprisingly respectful of their privacy and didn't spend too long or get too personal. He and his family even sent over a gift basket and flowers.

Gio and his wife sent a basket of sour dough bread, cured meat, and cheeses, along with some flowers.

Betty's room was filled with flowers, balloons, and gift baskets from everyone they knew who had heard of the accident – even people who had seen the segments on Fashion TV. Daniel appreciated their thoughtfulness, he only wished Betty was able to see how loved she was.

Sadly there wasn't much change in her condition, other than she was able to breathe on her own again - which was a good sign. Fortunately the baby was still doing well. Amanda was out of the hospital, but still in a wheelchair. She, Marc, Justin, and Hilda gathered in Betty's room on a weekly basis in order to give her the spa treatment. They were in there, currently.

"You know, maybe if I trash her 'stache, she'll wake up?" Marc pondered, putting wax on Betty's upper lip, sticking the paper down firmly and finally ripping it off. "Ouch! That even hurt _me!_ Okay, Hilda, you've got jungle duty – if a bikini wax and getting rid of those gorilla legs doesn't wake her, I don't know _what_ will! _"_

"Unh uh! I am _not_ goin' there! There are some things a woman has to decide for herself!" Hilda refused. "I _will_ wax her legs when I'm finished with her manicure, though."

"I'll do it! I'm not afraid to make Betty's bush look beautiful," Amanda volunteered, reaching for the sheets.

"Get outta there!" Hilda slapped her hand away. "Help me with her nails."

"Stay away from the fire engine red, Mom! Aunt Betty's not a hooker or looking for a guy in Queens," Justin warned as he finished plucking her eyebrows and applied an avocado mask to his aunt's face.

Hilda rolled her eyes and ignored him.

"Ooh! _I_ know what'll shake the Bride of Frankenstein – didn't you guys tell me she has ticklish feet?" Marc said and began to use the pomace stone on her foot. "Tickle, tickle . . . _Nothing!_ Hey, why am _I_ getting stuck with her huge hairy toes again anyway? That first week when she had those bear claws almost killed me!"

"Hey, my sista is almost nine months pregnant, dumbass! She can't bend ovah," Hilda defended.

"Yeah, but this is _Betty_ \- since when could she _ever_ bend over?" Amanda snorted.

Marc smirked.

"I expected that outta Marc, but not _you_ , Amanda! You and I are also pregnant women who can't see our toes, ourselves. Not to mention who could evah forget your Big Fat Ass Summer?" Hilda defended her sister.

"Wait, you _know_ about that?" Amanda gasped in horror.

"Everyone who knows you knows about that, honey," Hilda said. "So be nice to my sista – who's in a coma for Christ's sake! Show some respect."

Amanda pouted.

" _Marc!_ " Wilhelmina bellowed as she opened the door to the room. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Everyone jumped.

"How many times have I told you to go _with_ the grain, not _against_ it? And fire engine red?! The woman lives in the country _of_ the Queen, not _in_ Queens! Three of you should know better," she continued.

"Hey, I tried to tell her," Justin sighed, shaking his head at his mother.

"Smart boy. Perhaps you can be my intern this summer," Wilhelmina told him. "Now, has anyone ever done Betty's hair? She looks worse than when we first met her! Do I have to do _everything_ myself?! Everybody out! _Leave!_ "

Everyone scurried out muttering about how bitchy she was.

"I know they mean well, but honestly, to kick a girl when she's down?" she said, reaching into her bag for some styling cream and a brush. "Only _I'm_ allowed to do _that._ "

"I was in your Jimmy Choos once, you know. Maybe that's why you grew on me over time. I could see a little of myself in you – the determination, the spirit – not the excess fat or those god awful braces. You climbed your way up the ladder of a magazine that you had no business belonging to. But you learned and you didn't give up. Then you had the balls to quit and move to another country to accept the job you had always wanted. Sure, it's not MODE, but it's not bad," Wilhelmina continued as she used a curling iron to fix Betty's hair.

Betty's and the baby's heart monitors beeped in the background.

Wilhelmina looked at her enormous, tacky hospital gown with disgust.

"I thought this was what was covering Kevin Federline's waistline," she scoffed and searched her bag for something more fitting. "Here, Khloe Kardashian wore these in her last photoshoot. The art department definitely had their work cut out for them trying to hide her curves – worse than Natalie Whitman. But she's a big girl and you're a big, pregnant girl. They might work. I'll tell the nurse to help you put it on."

She laid the long cream silk negligee and pink robe across her bed.

"I'm surprised no one else thought to put you in something better - not even Daniel. Well, who am I kidding, Daniel Meade couldn't find a fashion faux pas if it bit him in the ass! Although, your husband did have his moments, I'll admit," she commented to an unresponsive Betty. "You know, you're editor-in-chief of a successful European magazine, not some homely assistant anymore. Looking like something Fabia's dog dragged in is unacceptable – even in a coma."

"I couldn't agree more," Claire said, entering the room.

"Claire," Wilhelmina acknowledged her.

"Wilhelmina," Claire said. "I see you and my daughter-in-law are having some quality time together."

"Yes, well, I merely came to pay my weekly respects. When I saw there was still no progress on her hair and attire, I simply couldn't stand it any longer," Wilhelmina explained.

"You miss her, don't you?" Claire assumed.

"I suppose I do miss having someone to make fun of, especially since your son is no longer there either," Wilhelmina conceded.

"She's going to make it, you know," Claire told her.

"Yes, well let's hope so," Wilhelmina said. "The world would literally be a darker, emptier place without Betty in it."

"Clever," Claire rolled her eyes. "Let me guess – Hilda did her nails this time?"

"Who else?" Wilhelmina answered. "Although, can you really fault someone who went to beauty school in Queens?"

"Where's the remover?" Claire asked as the two women proceeded to fix Betty's nails.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Daniel tossed and turned for the hundredth time that night. While it was nice to have a guest bed, for family members to stay, the mattress was incredibly uncomfortable. He had to admit that the older he got, the less adaptable he was to sleeping on hard surfaces. He'd have to have his mother bring it up to the staff at the next board meeting and possibly donate some money for new mattresses.

He was just about to finally fall asleep when he heard a faint voice calling out. He got up and turned on the bedside light. He cautiously went over to Betty's bed trying to tell himself he could just be dreaming. It was the middle of the night and he'd had very little sleep the past few weeks. But he kept hearing Betty moaning in pain and muttering someone's name.

" _Ow!_ Where am I? . . . _Aaah!_ Damn it, why does it hurt so bad?! . . . _Oh, god_ – am I bleeding?! Did I just wet the bed?! . . . Henry . . . Where's Henry? . . . I need Henry!" she groaned.


	13. Chapter 13

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 _Henry?!_ What the hell did that little bastard have to do with anything?! Maybe it _was_ just a dream – or nightmare, actually.

"Betty?" Daniel said, noticing her eyes were open and responsive.

"Daniel?" she spoke.

He pressed the call button for the nurse.

" _Oh my god!_ Betty, you're awake!" he exclaimed, then kissed her lips, overjoyed that she finally had come back to him. "Are you okay?"

"Daniel?" she repeated, confused. " _Oww . . ._ Where am I? . . . Why did you kiss me like that? Or at all? Something's really wrong, isn't it? Is it my family? Yours? Amanda? Marc? . . . Where's Henry?"

There it was again.

"Did you need something, Mr. Meade?" the nurse responded.

"Yes. My wife – she's awake. And I think her water just broke," he answered.

"I'll let the on-call doctor know right away, Mr. Meade, and send a nurse in the meantime," the nurse said.

"Thank you," he replied.

"Everyone's fine, Betty. You've been in a coma for almost a month. I thought I'd lost you . . . I don't know where Henry is. Probably at home, asleep. Why do you keep asking?" Daniel told her, trying to keep calm.

"A coma? How? Does Henry know? I don't want him to think I stood him up. And don't keep giving me that 'what-the-hell-are-doing-I-don't-want-to-see-you-get-hurt' look every time I bring up his name," she huffed. "I'm not going down that path with him again, but I didn't think it'd hurt to have breakfast and catch up."

Daniel nodded. The doctors had warned him she might experience some memory loss, but did she have to go back to a time that had anything to do with Henry? And didn't it occur to her that _he'd_ be worried about her a hell of a lot more than that greaseball – even back then?

"About three weeks ago, you were in a plane crash You've been in a coma ever since," he explained.

"Where's your wife – shouldn't you be with _her_ instead of _me?"_ Betty questioned.

"Betty -" he began.

"Daniel, I know you care about me, but you just told the nurse that her water broke. _Aaaaahhh . . ._ there's that freakin' pain again! When did you get married, anyway?" she asked. "And please tell me it isn't to Trista! Honestly, Daniel, you can do _so_ much better. Oh god, you didn't _have_ to marry her, did you? I thought you'd changed. Getting a girl pregnant was something Old Daniel would do, not New Daniel."

"Slow down, B. I'm not married to Trista – I never even slept with her," he assured her. "And I didn't get any other random girl pregnant either. Face it, my sex life was non-existent after Amanda and I stopped being fun-buddies."

" _Ewwww!_ And good," Betty exhaled a sigh of relief. "I mean – why do I even care? . . . _Oww_ . . . You can date, sleep with, marry whoever you want, Daniel. I'm just overstepping again."

"Uh, Betty? There's something I need to tell you. But you have to promise me you won't freak out," Daniel said.

"Yeah, because hearing those words makes anyone want to stay calm . . . _Ooooooh_ . . ." she sarcastically remarked.

"Betty," Daniel sighed.

"Sorry. I promise," she said.

"Betty, _you_ are my wife," he carefully told her.

"I-I'm y-your w-wife?! . . . _Owwwww!_ . . . I guess that explains the pain . . . _Aaaahhh!_ Son of a bitch that hurts! . . . and the wet bed, and why my stomach's so big, and these rings, but it doesn't explain _you_ ," Betty said. "How did this happen? _Oh, shit!_ Is the baby Henry's? Did you marry me to 'rescue' me from him or something? I _knew_ I shouldn't have agreed to see him again!"

"Betty, calm down. The baby is ours," Daniel told her.

" _Ours?!_ You mean you and I – _really?_ " she looked at him skeptically.

Daniel nodded.

"Did we make one of those pacts or something – like when we reached a certain point in our lives if neither of us was married, we'd marry each other and raise a kid? Because that would make sense – you'll be forty in a few years and neither one of us has been that lucky in love. We're best friends - why not, right?" she guessed.

Daniel sighed, trying to hide his frustration at the fact that she couldn't picture them as a real couple. He shouldn't be so upset, though. He was the one who fell first to begin with.

"No. Betty, we're really in love. Like palms sweating, hearts racing, can't live without each other, together forever, passionate love," he clarified.

"Oh . . . _Owww!_ Didn't the nurse say she was sending someone?" Betty asked.

"Yeah, but you know how ridiculously slow hospital staff can be – especially at night. If you don't say you're bleeding to death, they take their own damn time," he scoffed.

"So . . . you and me, we're in love?" she said, trying to distract herself from the pain.

"Yeah," Daniel answered.

"This is really weird . . . We're _married_ . . . I'm about to give birth to _your baby_ . . . and I don't remember any of it . . ." she said, still trying to wrap her head around it.

"I know this is a lot to deal with at once. I'm so sorry you have to go through this," he said.

"No, Daniel. _I'm_ sorry. I've been so busy worrying about _me_ , that I completely ignored what _you_ must be going through. Thank you so much for being here for me . . . for always being here when I need you. I can't imagine how hard it is for you to have the woman you married not even remember your relationship. I promise I'll do everything I can to get my memory back – and not just for me, but for you, too. I'm on Team Daniel – always. _Oh, god!_ Why does it feel like this baby's trying to rip out my insides? _Holy shit, it hurts!_ "

"Is there anything I can do?" Daniel asked.

"Could you rub my lower back?" she timidly requested, turning on her side. "It's really killing me right now."

"Sure," he said cautiously placing his hands on her back. She was his wife, so every part of her was familiar to him. However, he knew he had to be respectful of boundaries considering she only remembered him as her friend. "Here?"

"No, lower . . . lower . . . right there. Perfect . . . _Ohhhh . . ._ that feels good. Thank you . . . I'm sure you've given me plenty of massages before so it's nothing new to you. But _I_ still feel a little uncomfortable about it. You have magic fingers, by the way – _no wonder_ I fell for you. _Oh god_ – did I just say that out loud?" she gasped, her face turning red with embarrassment.

"Betty, it's okay. There's no need to be embarrassed," Daniel assured her, taking her hand. "I don't think I could make it any more obvious how I feel about you. But there is absolutely _no_ pressure to say or do anything you aren't comfortable with. Both of us need time to adjust."

Betty squeezed his hand back.

"You're right," she agreed. "But I don't know why I'm so nervous . . . I mean it's _you_ , not some stranger. I know way too many personal things about you to start being afraid to be myself around you – like what used to be in the top drawer of your dresser. And for the record – _ewwww!_ And _thank god_ I got rid of them!"

"You talked to my mom, didn't you?!" he accused.

"You'll never know," she smugly replied. "As I was saying, maybe I'm apprehensive because I only remember you before you were in love with me. My instinct is to sensor any inappropriate thoughts I might have about you."

"You've had inappropriate thoughts about me?" Daniel replied, intrigued.

"Maybe once, but it was when I'd accidentally taken two different cold medications and had just broken up with Zach - or Ezra - whatever. Not only did he not want to be seen with me, but he also ended up giving me the flu," she remembered, annoyed. " _Aaaaaaahh . . ._ "

"Wait - I shared a pint of sugar free ice cream with you that night . . . you cried on my shoulder," Daniel recalled. "I blamed being sick on _Amanda_."

" _Sorry . . ._ " Betty sheepishly apologized. " _Owwww!_ And I'm really sorry you took it out on Amanda. She's the one who suggested getting the healthier stuff for minor upsets in the first place. And here comes another one . . . _Aaaaahhhhh!_ "

"Want me to text your family?" he offered, handing her a cup of half-melted ice chips he'd gotten earlier that night for his drink.

"Could you? _They'll_ probably get here before anyone checks on us," she scoffed, taking one and handing the cup back to him.

"Yeah, but let me go to the nurses' station first – this is bullshit!" he complained.

"No. Daniel, don't! Please stay with me . . . I need you," Betty pleaded, grabbing his hand as tears formed in her eyes and her chin quivered.

Daniel was surprised by her reaction. He was only going down the hall. Did she honestly think he'd run and never look back? He pressed the button for the nurse.

"It's okay. I'm right here, B," he reassured her, sitting on her bed and holding her.

He pulled out his phone and quickly group texted her family, his, and their friends, letting them know her status.

"I'm sorry. I'm usually stronger than this - I'm just really scared right now," she confessed, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm about to have a baby I have no memories of conceiving or carrying. I still don't know exactly how I ended up in here or why I don't remember anything. And you, you're somehow my _husband_ now. _Oooooooohhhhhhh!_ But you're still the man I know and love as my friend. I trust you more than anyone, which is probably one of the reasons I married you in the first place. Just promise you won't leave me?"

"I swear. I'll never leave you, Betty. I promise," he vowed, kissing her temple.

"Thank you . . ." she said, relaxing comfortably in his arms. "You said I was in a plane crash. Why was I on a plane? Where was I going – I just got back from Fashion Week in London?"

"It's March 2011," he told her. "You were with Amanda, your assistant, and the photographer of your new magazine in London. You guys were covering the launch of UN Women in New York."

"I took the job?" she said, shocked. "But that means I let everyone down, even you."

"Hey . . . hey, you didn't let anyone down, Betty. You have made everyone so proud of you – especially me," he calmed her down.

" _Aaahhh . . ._ where the hell is the doctor?! . . _. Owww_. . . the contractions are coming faster . . . _Ooooooo . . . .!_ " Betty wailed.

Daniel pressed the button for the nurses' station again. Someone actually answered that time.

"What the hell is wrong with you people?! I told you a god damn hour ago that my wife had woken up from her _coma_ and was _in labor_. Her contractions are getting closer and closer together. Send someone down here _now_ , before I fire all of your asses and sue this hospital for negligence! And if you think I'm joking, you are sorely mistaken. My family owns an entire wing of this hospital and a seat on the board, so I _will_ do it!" Daniel bellowed.

" _Jesus,_ Daniel! Since when did you start going all Willie on people's asses?" Betty asked. " _Owwww . . ._ "

"Sorry, Betty. I guess it just comes natural when I'm protecting the people I love most," he apologized.

"You don't have to apologize, Daniel. I'm honestly strangely turned-on by it. _Ahhhhh . . ._ yeah, I know. Not the right timing," she cringed in pain. "Can you just rub my back again?"

"Here?" he asked.

"Yeah, right there. I'm sure I'm way past the window of an epidural thanks to the staff," she groaned in pain.

"I'm so sorry, B," he told her. "I don't know if it'll help, but you can squeeze my hand until it breaks. After all, I'm the guy who knocked you up in the first place."

Betty giggled.

" _Owww . . .!_ " she exclaimed, reaching for his hand. "If only I could remember how any of this happened. Right now it's just hilarious to think that _I_ of all people managed to get knocked up by Daniel Meade. Tell me that we were at least sober when it happened. Because if it was a drunken one-night-stand that led you to pitying me, I think I'm gonna cry."

"We were both sober and in love when it happened. We didn't plan it, but we were happy about it," Daniel told her, intentionally leaving out the part of her initial freak-out.

"Good. That's good. The last thing I want is to be the person someone settles on because they feel obligated," she sighed in relief, before enduring yet another contraction.

"Betty, that's the farthest thing from the truth. I quit MODE and moved to another country for only a chance that you'd see me as someone more than just your screw-up friend. I'd never wanted to be with anyone as much as I wanted to be with you," he confessed.

"Really?" she questioned. " _Aaaaaahh . . ._ "

"Really," he confirmed.

"That's so sweet," she melted, placing her hand on his cheek.

Daniel leaned in closer, their lips almost touching when the doctor barged in.

"Hi, guys! I'm Dr. Mickey Stinkel – you can call me Mick. So you're Betty Suarez-Meade and you must be the baby-daddy?" he greeted them.

"Yes, I'm her _husband_ , Daniel Meade," he held out his hand, slightly perturbed by the assumption that he was still just some screw-her and leave-her type of guy.

" _Oh, yeah ._ . . Now I recognize you. You know, I couldn't believe you got hitched again! I mean you used to have chicks all over you, man! Probably banging three, four models a night? _Damn!_ What sane guy would give that up? Sorry I'm late, by the way – got stuck in traffic," the young doctor who looked fresh out of med school excused, washing his hands and struggling to put on some gloves. He reminded Daniel of a combination of Kenny from accounting and Nick Pepper – only dumber and less coordinated.

Daniel and Betty looked at each other.

"Oh, who am I kidding – it's 4 in the morning? I slept in a little longer. Guess _you_ don't need that, Betty – you've been in a coma for about a month . . ." Dr. Stinkel joked, checking her vitals for any signs of side effects. "First babies take forever, anyways. I'm sure you're not nearly as far along as you think you are and we can squeeze an epidural in. But let me just take a quick peek . . . Whoa!"

"Whoa?" Betty and Daniel simultaneously repeated.

"Um . . . turns out I can already see some of the head. Yeah, no time for those painkillers. Oops – sorry!" he shrugged. "Shouldn't be too much longer before you can start pushing. I'm gonna finish this chart and grab a nurse."

" _Oops?! Sorry?! Sleeping in?! And bringing up my past sex life?!_ Betty, can you believe this jackass? I'm calling for someone else!" Daniel discreetly protested, reaching for the call button.

Betty immediately grabbed it and held it away from him.

" _Betty!_ What the hell?!" Daniel wondered, attempting to grab it again until she smacked him away.

"Daniel, I appreciate your concern, I really do," she said as quietly as possible. " _Ohhhhhh . . ._ But it took us an hour and a half before we got horny Doogie Howser, here. If we try for someone else, we could end up with Paris Hilton wearing a stethoscope. _Aaaaahhhh . . ._ And face it, you don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies while we wait for the next quack to come."

Daniel gave her a blank expression.

"'Gone with the Wind'?" she explained. "You seriously need to broaden your knowledge of classic movies. _Owwwww!_ Anyway, this guy at least knows _something_ to some degree," she argued.

Then they both noticed him accidentally knocking over a sterilized tray of medical instruments before leaving the room.

Daniel looked at his wife skeptically.

"Damn it, Daniel! Don't mess with your recently comatose, amnesiac, pregnant wife when she's about to give birth to your child!" she warned, wincing in pain. "You have my permission to yell at and fire people to your heart's content after it's all over. I promise."

"Fine," he grumbled. "But I'm holding you to it."

"Just get over here and hold my hands," she huffed. " _Owwwww!_ "

Daniel sat behind her and did as he was told. He knew better than to argue with her when she was like that.

"Okay . . . let's just see how far dilated you are, now," Dr. Stinkel said, coming back in with a nurse and checking Betty's progress. "Awesome! It's showtime!"

" _Oh my god, Daniel_ – I don't know if I can do this!" Betty panicked, the reality setting in.

" _Yes you can!_ Betty, you are the bravest person I know. And I'm right here," he assured her.

"Okay, Betty. Take a deep breath and push," Dr. Stinkel told her.

"Tell me something to distract me," she said to Daniel as she started pushing. " _Oooooooohhhhhh!_ "

"I, uh, I set myself on fire when you wanted to take that job," he said. He hated that everyone knew about that incident, but he figured it'd be a good aversion to Betty's pain at the moment.

"You _what?!_ " Betty exclaimed, taking a breath before pushing again. " _Daniel_ , what the hell were you thinking?! _Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!_ "

"I know . . . I wasn't. I thought it'd be cool to burn your release form and show you I wasn't going to let you leave . . . Turns out, it only looked cool in my head," he admitted.

"And the head is out! Great job, Betty!" Dr. Stinkel said. "Take some breaths and then give me another big push.

Betty nodded.

"Daniel, you could barely light the match . . . on the cupcake you stole from Ida's retirement party . . . when you forgot to get me a birthday present," she reminded him, attempting to catch her breath.

"You _knew_ about that?" Daniel said, surprised.

"The wrapper said 'Over the Hill'," she retorted, then pushed again. " _Ooooowwwww!_ "

"It was a joke?" he sheepishly excused.

"You're ten years . . . _Ooooooooohhhh_ . . . older than I am," she countered.

"It's not like I _look_ it, right?" he conceitedly pointed out.

"You don't _act_ like it," she corrected him.

"Watch it – you just admitted you married an old guy," he smirked.

"You're not _that_ old, and besides, age makes you sexier," she flirted, resting for a moment. "Only right now, I'm beginning to think that sex is a very bad thing that's literally coming back to bite me in the _Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!_ "

"And the first shoulder is out!" the doctor exclaimed. "Keep pushing, Betty . . . Here's number two!"

"You're doing so great, B!" Daniel smiled and wiped her forehead with a damp cloth.

"Okay, Betty. One more big push," Dr. Stinkel told her.

"We're almost there, baby – we can do this, right?" Daniel held up his good hand for a high-five. The other one he could barely feel at the moment.

"I think so . . ." Betty reluctantly hit his hand as she attempted to gather up more strength for the final push.

"Alright! Go Team Detty! P-U, S-H, push that baby out!" Daniel coached.

"Daniel, what are you doing?" Betty asked, annoyed and out of breath.

"I'm cheering you on," he innocently shrugged.

" _Don't_ do that," she warned, pushing one last time. " _Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!_ "

"Sorry," he sheepishly apologized.

"Alright, guys. Get ready to meet your baby girl!" Dr. Stinkel announced, holding her up as she began to cry for the first time.

"Oh my god, she's beautiful!" Betty exclaimed.

"She really is – even if she does kinda look like my Great Aunt Edna, covered in grape jelly," he mused.

Betty jabbed him with her elbow.

" _Ow!_ " he rubbed his side. "And you were right – it _was_ a girl."

She gave Daniel a puzzled look.

"But I don't care – she's here and she's healthy," he grinned.

"Dad, would you like to cut the cord?" the doctor asked Daniel.

Daniel looked at Betty unsure of her feelings.

"Go ahead – it's okay," she smiled, weakly.

"Cool! Spongey," he remarked as he snipped it with the scissors.

Betty couldn't help but laugh at his boyish comments.

As Dr. Stinkel and the nurse cleaned their new daughter up and checked her vitals, Daniel went over to Betty's side.

"You were _amazing_ , Betty. Thank you so much," he kissed the top of her hand, with tears in his eyes. "You went above and beyond what any other woman in labor had to go through. The strength and courage you showed only makes me love you even more."

Betty smiled, timidly.

"Don't take this the wrong way . . . but I love you, too, Daniel. Knowing what I know, and the way you stood by me this whole time - never expecting anything more than what I could give to you – it made me see how easily I could have fallen for you," Betty confessed. "It's not as weird to think about anymore."

Daniel modestly smiled.

"See, I knew you'd come around, eventually. It's the charm, isn't it?" he teased.

"How could I forget that trying to compliment you is impossible without your head getting bigger by the second?" she rolled her eyes.

The nurse appeared at that moment and carefully handed Betty their baby girl.

" _Oh my god!_ I can't believe _we_ made this . . . She's so perfect," Betty gushed in awe.

"She's beautiful – just like her mom," Daniel commented, mesmerized.

Betty smiled, coyly up at Daniel.

"She's got your nose," she observed. "And your eyes."

"Your hair – she's got so much for just a newborn . . . and your cute little chipmunk cheeks," he smiled.

"Bobby told you?" she wondered, blushing from embarrassment.

"Yeah -" Daniel started to explain, but was interrupted by their daughter letting out a wail at the top of her tiny lungs.

"Feisty, like you, too," he joked.

Betty gave him a look and quieted the baby down.

"The things I do for you, Meade . . . this one tops them all. I'm thinking you owe me 5-star dinners, movies, and all the snacks I can eat for _at least_ a year. Plus -" she began.

Daniel kissed her passionately, unable to hold back his emotions any longer. He knew it was a risk, but decided to go for it anyway.

"W-Why'd you do that?" Betty asked, breathless and confused.

"To shut you up," he muttered into her lips, hoping a little humor would soften any fears she might have.

Betty hesitated for a second and smiled down at their new baby girl – she was a miracle in more ways than one. Betty then gazed into Daniel's entrancing blue eyes and kissed him back just as passionately.

At that moment, Daniel was more confident than ever that they could get through everything that happened; that even if Betty never recalled their life together, there was still a chance to start a new one if she was willing. And judging by her reaction to his kiss, the odds were definitely in his favor. That was until Betty suddenly turned sheet white, falling limp and unconscious.

Shocked and confused, Daniel immediately called out to the doctor for help and quickly grabbed their child before she was harmed. His wife's heart monitor went crazy, a crash cart rolled in, and their daughter began to wail again as he faintly heard comments of Betty 'bleeding out', and the medical staff 'losing her' above the cries. A nurse quickly guided them into another room, and Daniel's whole world fell apart for the second time that month.


	14. Chapter 14

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Daniel stared into the nursery of the maternity ward, trying to focus on his child rather than facing what had just happened to his wife. Their families (including Alexis, DJ, and Christina who had just arrived for the weekend) were all in the private surgical waiting room trying to pass the excruciating time. He had to get out of there though.

He couldn't just sit and read one outdated magazine after another or watch the morning talk shows. Ignacio, Bobby, Tyler, Alexis, Austin, and DJ were content talking about sports – that is until Tyler disagreed with them about the Knicks. Over the past month, his mother had unfortunately taken up knitting again. But he figured it was better than drinking, so he'd hinted to her to make baby blankets instead of scarves this time.

He really couldn't take listening to Hilda, Christina, Amanda, Marc, and Justin argue over the 'Who Wore It Best' spreads. At one point, Hilda threw her orange juice at Amanda for not agreeing that J-Lo was classier than Beyoncé and insinuating that her ass was bigger than both artists' combined. Bobby and Tyler were forced to separate them, while Christina and Justin quickly got rid of any hot beverages that were within reach. Everyone was obviously more than a little strung out, considering Hilda and Amanda usually got along. It had definitely been his que to leave and find somewhere more peaceful, though. At least, he assumed it was peaceful.

"'Former MODE Editor Gives Wife Kiss of Death', 'Meade Heir Cursed - Will Wife #2 Survive? Is MODE Next?' Really, Daniel, I could do without all the negative publicity for my magazine," Wilhelmina entered the area and flung the tabloids at him. "Although, I suppose _any_ publicity could be deemed good publicity as long as we're getting on page 6."

"My wife is still in surgery and her life is hanging in the balance. The least you could do is show some god damn respect!" Daniel snapped.

"It isn't me, Daniel - it's those shit-for-brains tabloid writers! I swear they must have spies all over the place and access to a printer 24/7 as fast as they whip out this trash! However, this trash _does_ affect my business. And even though I've grown to tolerate your peppy, pudgy, little wife – perhaps even . . . _like_ her - business still comes first. Let's hope for the both of us that MODE isn't affected in a negative way," she told him.

"Oh, save it, Willie - you leaked this yourself! You've done it before. Only this time, you exploited my wife in order to serve your own motives. What's wrong, sales numbers not as good as before? Or are you just getting bored, not having any evil scheme to pull?" he accused.

"Honestly, Daniel, maybe you should get some sleep. All of this drama is making you paranoid," she suggested, surprised at his accusations. She briefly put her hand on his shoulder. "I realize I've been cold in the past, but I truly wish you and your family no harm. I already have what I want – I merely wish to keep it alive . . . as you do with Betty."

Daniel almost believed she was being sincere.

"I apologize, Wilhelmina. You've actually been really supportive this past month. I guess it's just not easy for me to get used to this side of you without expecting some sort of hidden agenda," Daniel admitted.

"I'm not _all_ bitch, Daniel. I have a heart, too. And that girl of yours is a pistol – a butterfly-wearing pistol - but I digress. If there's any way to survive this she will. Please let me know of any news – she'll be in my thoughts," Wilhelmina said before leaving. "Oh, I almost forgot to congratulate you. Which baby is yours?"

"The girl – right there," he pointed.

"She's surprisingly quite beautiful," Wilhelmina backhandedly complimented.

"Thank you – I think," Daniel rolled his eyes.

"Almost makes me wish for another child . . . A chance to make things right," she wistfully pondered, staring at all the newborn babies through the glass window.

"Maybe you should talk to Connor," he advised. "He might be open to it."

"Maybe I will," she smiled at him.

"Just do us all a favor and get one the legal way, this time," Daniel joked.

"I'll admit I deserved that," she conceded, laughing a little.

The new borderline-friendship between them was extremely odd, but Daniel still found it better than being enemies.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Betty slowly opened her eyes. Her throat was dry and scratchy and she felt disoriented for the second time in two days.

"Daniel?" she called out, her eyes searching the room for him. "Daniel? Could I have some water?"

Daniel immediately stopped what he was doing and got her a cup. She drank it eagerly and handed it back to him.

"Betty! Thank god you're okay! You've gotta stop scaring me like that!" he scolded before kissing her.

"What happened? That last thing I remember is kissing you and then passing out?" Betty asked, still groggy from the anesthesia. "Where's the baby? Is she okay?"

"You had what's called a primary post-partum hemorrhage, or PPH, and lost multiple pints of blood. According to the doctor – not the quack, but the surgeon – you had a retained placenta. The placenta didn't come out within 30 minutes after birth, like it should have. That Mick guy didn't even think it was important to monitor," he explained. "Our daughter's perfect. She's in the nursery. The nurse is going to bring her by in half an hour, if you're feeling up to it."

"Good, I can't wait to hold her again. And she doesn't even have a name yet! I feel so bad . . ." she groaned.

"It okay, B. I thought we'd get to that once we saw her again, together. I've been spending time with her while you were in surgery – our families, too. I wanted her to know we didn't abandon her," he told her.

"Good. Thank you," Betty smiled.

"I have a name in mind, but there are still the ones we thought of before the accident, too," he said, pulling a list out of his pocket. "And of course anything else you come up with, now."

"What were you thinking?" she asked, curious. She was also crossing her fingers it wasn't something ridiculous that only a celebrity, or a moron, or both would name their kid - like Orange or Tree.

"Scarlett," he suggested. "Scarlett Rosa."

"Oh, Daniel, it's perfect. I don't even need time to think it over," she smiled, tears forming in her eyes that he not only thought of their conversation during her labor, but also of her mother. "So you obviously Googled 'Gone with the Wind', because I know you didn't have time to read or watch it, right?"

"Yeah, but I knew it must've been a movie you really liked or you wouldn't have yelled at me for not knowing it," he joked.

Betty smiled, embarrassed.

"Sorry," she sheepishly apologized.

"It's okay. I love how passionate you get about little things like that," Daniel grabbed her hand.

Betty laced her fingers through his, rubbing her thumb along his hand.

"So am I okay now? I don't feel any worse than I did before," she asked.

"Betty . . . I'm not sure how to tell you this, but you won't be able to carry a child again," he informed her.

"W-What? H-How?" her stomach plummeted to the floor.

"In order to repair all the bleeding, the doctors had to remove your uterus in what they called a partial hysterectomy," he explained.

" _Oh my god!_ I mean, I'm glad I'm okay, but what about having more children?" Betty started to cry. "Daniel, you've already been through so much. I completely understand if this changes things between us. I know you've told me before how you wanted multiple kids. I can't even remember how we made the one we have. I can't remember carrying her – they say that's a special bonding experience no one can replace . . . And I can't remember us. I'm still getting used to there being an 'us'."

Daniel wiped her tears away with the pad of his thumb and gently kissed her hand.

"Betty, I don't care about any of this. If I don't have you to share it with, it means nothing to me. _You_ are my world," Daniel insisted. "I'm so lucky to have you and our baby girl. And since it turns out we can't have another child naturally, we can always explore other options. The doctor told me you still have your ovaries. Your eggs can still be harvested. We can still conceive a child of our own – it'll just be with IVF and a surrogate. Even if we don't have any more children at all, I'd still be happy as long as I had you."

Betty's heart melted. Her mind was racing with thoughts of nightmare stories she'd read about surrogates and adoption. There was even what had happened to Wilhelmina with Christina and William. But hearing Daniel say those words to her made everything better. She knew that if they decided to have another child in the future and couldn't for some reason, he'd stand by her no matter what happened. How could she be so lucky to have found such an amazing man?

"You really mean it don't you? You love me enough to sacrifice like that?" she questioned, finding it hard to believe that any man would love her that much – especially not one who could have any woman he chose.

"I'd do anything to be with you, Betty. I love you," he reassured her.

"I-I don't know what to say . . . except I don't want to hurt you. You're the sweetest man I've ever known. I love you so much as a friend and I'm beginning to feel more for you than that," Betty confessed. "Only, I don't want you to get your hopes up that one day I'll remember everything, because I might not. I can't be the wife you married when I don't even know who she was."

"Baby, stop," Daniel told her, putting his other hand on her cheek.

Betty took her free hand and gently pushed it away.

"No, look at me, Daniel – really look at me. I'm not the same person. I don't wear glasses anymore, I left my family and friends, I took a job in another country where I run an entire magazine, I got _married_ – I don't know how long our engagement was but obviously not very long, and I was pregnant and now have a _baby_. All that happened in only a year. I've changed too much," she insisted.

"Betty, do you remember – and it's okay if you don't – but do you remember when I punched Matt and we got kicked out of the photoshoot you were supposed to run?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" she wondered.

"We took a walk and you told me you were afraid of changing. And I told you that change can be good. I'm telling you that now – sometimes it can be scary, but when you get over that fear, change can be _really good_ ," he said. "You took a huge chance when you moved to London, but think about all it's gotten you. I know you don't recognize yourself, right now. But trust me - you have turned into an amazing, sexy, confident woman who can achieve anything you set your mind to. And you're still you - the same loving, quirky, selfless, peppy ray of sunshine you've always been."

Betty smiled modestly. She knew deep down what Daniel was saying was true. After all, she had changed before and that turned out to be for the better. It wasn't easy at first, but in the end it worked out great. She no longer had to deal with petty assistant tasks, was able to write her own articles and run photoshoots, and was still able to keep Daniel in her life as a friend. She had even gotten that offer in London. But how could she have left her family like that? How could she have left Daniel? They all needed her. How did they manage to forgive her? There were so many unanswered questions running through her mind. But she tried to focus on one at a time.

"So where does that leave us, now?" she asked.

"Well, we're married – unless you don't want to be?" he said.

His suggestion her hurt her more than she thought it would.

"No! Daniel, I do – I want to try," she assured him. "I just don't want you to have any false hope, that's all."

"Ok. No expectations – I promise," he swore. "And of course, we have our baby girl to think about."

"Whatever happens between us, Daniel, I want you to know that I will always be there for her," Betty vowed.

She hoped in her heart it would never lead to that. She loved Daniel so much; she couldn't imagine losing her best friend. She also hated thinking of raising a child in a broken home. But she had grown enough to be realistic. It was a possibility, even though she shuddered at the thought of it not working out.

Daniel nodded.

"So we're doing this? Whatever pace you need, I'll go," he assured her.

"Okay," she agreed and motioned for him to lay on the bed with her.

He followed her lead and faced her on the bed.

Betty took his hand and nervously placed it around her waist. His touch was warm and familiar even though she couldn't recall ever being in this position with him before.

"Why do I feel like we're doing something really wrong here?" she nervously smiled. "Like Wilhelmina or Papi's gonna catch us or something?"

Daniel chuckled.

"Hey, it's okay. I can go sit back in the chair, if you want?" he told her, attempting to get up.

She quickly pulled him back down.

"No, stay. I like being this close to you. I just have to get the warning sign out of my head that keeps telling me you're off limits," Betty explained, frustrated.

"You asked me to be your date for the wedding, right?" Daniel prompted.

"Yeah," she said, not seeing where he was going with that.

"So how was that any different? I was still your boss and your friend then. And you knew we'd be holding each other as we danced, drinking wine, and experiencing all the love that was in the air, right?" he recalled.

"Right. But I also knew what we were to each other – at least I _thought_ I did. You were a safe date to a wedding because you were my best friend. You weren't some guy who was expecting more from the invite because weddings are a bigger deal than just eating at a restaurant or going to a movie. I knew we could have fun and spend time with each other without any pressure. Then Henry announced he was showing up and things got awkward," Betty explained.

"Oh. So I was 'safe'? I guess I never pictured myself as _that_ guy," he face fell.

"Daniel," Betty touched his face, regretful that she'd opened her mouth. He looked so hurt. She hated that look. It made her want to hug him and never let go.

"No, Betty, it's fine. I guess I should've known better than to read too much into it," he scoffed, embarrassed.

"Did you honestly think I asked you because I had a crush on you?"

"No . . ." he said.

"So why are you being like this?" she wondered.

"Because I was really flattered that you asked me, and you didn't label me as your Plus 1 – you said I was your date. We hadn't had much time together to hang out. I was glad to be spending a night with someone who I didn't feel like there was something missing when I was with her. And maybe I was open for something new, something that could possibly go somewhere besides just the bedroom," Daniel confessed.

"And you thought that was with me?" she presumed.

"Maybe subconsciously," he admitted. "At least I _think_ when I'm with you."

Betty giggled.

"You started acting all weird and protective when I told you I had to take Henry instead," she remembered.

"Yeah, I think my baser instincts were trying to tell me something," he admitted, chuckling. "I really hated that guy for what he did to you."

"What happened to Trista?" she wondered.

"You were right about her. You and I actually had a huge fight over her and Henry," Daniel recalled.

"Oh . . . So what happened?" Betty asked.

"We admitted to ourselves and each other that we were both going backward in our relationships and ended up going together to the wedding after all," he told her.

"Is that where we fell in love?" she assumed.

"No, that's where I realized I loved you without question, and where you accepted the job in London without telling me. I didn't know I was _in_ love with you until after I found out you wanted to leave. That's when I almost burned down my office," Daniel explained.

"My head's beginning to hurt," Betty joked.

"Do you need some aspirin?" he offered.

"No – I mean this is all so confusing," she clarified. "Can we take a break?"

"Sure. It's a lot to absorb," he agreed.

"Thank you. I think I know enough to tell that we both were starting to fall for one another and didn't realize it. It's a really sweet story, actually. And I want to hear more, later," she smiled, taking her hands and carefully running them over his chest and abs before timidly drawing her lips to his in a tender kiss. Then she quickly pulled back.


	15. Chapter 15

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"What's wrong?" Daniel asked.

"You've been eating the risotto at Lettuce, haven't you?" she assumed.

"What?! _No!_ How did you even get that?" Daniel answered, surprised.

"Because you taste like parmesan and garlic with a little bit of wine, and your six-pack is more like a one-pack," she teased, gently poking his ab.

"You know I hate how you know me – even with amnesia," he sighed. "Eduardo heard about everything and has been sending some over every week. Am I _that_ fat?"

"Relax, Daniel. I don't think that anyone can tell unless you lift up your shirt," she told him as she proceeded to do so. "And even if they can, you have a valid excuse. No one should fault you for it. Besides, I feel like I'm snuggling with a really cute teddy bear."

Horrified, Daniel immediately pulled his shirt down and started to get up.

" _Oh, shit!_ Betty, where's my phone? I've gotta go to the gym. I'll be back in a couple hours -" he panicked.

"Get back here, Teddy Risottobutt!" she flirted, pulling him back down with her.

" _Jesus!_ It's gone to my ass, too?!" he whined.

"No! Daniel, get a grip. Your ass is _fine_ ," Betty reassured him, rolling her eyes. He was so needy sometimes.

"Really?" he questioned with a confident, sexy stare.

" _Daniel . . ._ you know I didn't mean it _that_ way," she sighed.

"You know it's okay if you did – more than okay, actually," he assured her with his irresistible smile as he ran a finger along her arm.

She caught his hand and interlaced their fingers, absently weaving them in and out.

"I know . . . but . . ." she had trouble explaining. She was opening her mind to new feelings about Daniel, to thinking of him as more than just a friend. He was insanely attractive, and charming . . . even sexy. And there was no doubt that he loved her with all of his heart – which made it easy to fall for him. But she couldn't bring herself to completely wipe out what she had known him as for four years. He was still her friend. How could she think these things about him without feeling a little weird?

"You're right, whatever makes you comfortable. Just keep in mind that I'd take you right here if you were ready," he flirted.

"Flattering as it might be that you want to have sex with me in a place that reeks of antiseptics, saline, and bleach and where any random stranger could walk in on us, medically I can't participate in intercourse for another six weeks anyway," Betty rolled her eyes.

"Too Old Daniel?" he cringed.

"A little, but good try," she patted his cheek.

"Sorry, I get like this when I'm horny and stressed," he excused.

"I know. It was usually when I'd have to find you some random model to take your mind off your problems, and more recently when I'd have to distract you myself with a game or a movie. I can't fix the horny, but I can fix the stressed," she offered.

"How?" he asked, intrigued.

"What about a game of Scrabble? I'll even spot you ten points," she coaxed, eyeing the box in the corner of the room.

"Ten kisses, instead?" he pushed.

Betty looked at him. Daniel was always pressing his luck – like the time he'd made her late to Justin's talent show because he'd wanted to redecorate his living room. Amanda had let him in and he'd literally dragged her out of bed on a Saturday morning, coffee and bagel in hand as a bribe, wanting her advice on curtains. He swore he'd take her to lunch and then he'd let her go. Only, they happened to pass by Restoration Hardware on their way back from lunch, where he insisted on picking out furniture.

After browsing around and deciding on furniture and a table lamp, Daniel decided that he needed new wall accents. He'd teasingly begged for her to let him have one of the nude paintings Matt had painted of her. Obviously she'd threatened to beat him over the head with the new lamp he'd purchased if he didn't shut up. They went into an art gallery and he found other paintings instead.

After that, Daniel said he wanted to paint the walls to match everything. He promised that was the last thing he'd ask her to help him with. He swore she'd still be able to make it back to her apartment to change and get to Queens on time, but at some point they ended up having a paint fight. The outfit she'd had on wasn't even salvageable once she'd tripped over a roller and fell on top of him, causing him to knock over a can of paint which had gotten all over both of them.

After cleaning up, Daniel took her to Bergdorf's and picked out a versatile black pencil skirt dress with faux fur at the top for her to wear instead. She loved that dress; before it was merely because of the way it fit her, but now she wondered if deep down, she'd loved it because it reminded her of that day, who gave it to her, and how he'd reacted when she came out of the dressing room in it:

" _Okay, here's the last one," Betty announced._

 _Daniel stood there with his mouth gaping open._

" _It's too tight, isn't it? And the faux fur's a little much? I mean, it's only a talent show," she wavered and looked at the price tag. "Plus, it's $1,000! I could pay half my month's rent for that much! That settles it – it's going back!"_

" _I-It's p-perfect!" he managed to sputter out. "We're taking it!"_

" _What?! Daniel! I can't afford this – even half of it," she told him. "Wait, you're right – it doesn't matter what it looks like on me or how much it costs. If we don't leave now, we'll never make it to the show on time. I'll just charge it and stash some Ramen away from Amanda to live off of."_

" _No, Betty, you look . . . Wow . . ." he stared at her like she was Kiera Knightley._

" _Daniel, stop! I appreciate the vote of confidence, but aren't you laying it on a little thick?" she brushed his reaction off._

" _I'm serious, Betty. You look great. Not the polite 'great', but the if-I-didn't-know-you-I'd-be-hitting-on-you-right-now 'great'," he blurted out._

 _Betty stood there shocked, confused, and embarrassed; her face getting redder by the second._

" _I-I shouldn't have said that. Shit! I'm sorry. Maybe all those paint fumes went to my head," he nervously joked. "You do look beautiful, Betty. And the dress is on me – it's my fault your outfit was ruined."_

" _Thank you – you can take it out of my paycheck if you want," she smiled, awkwardly._

" _No, Betty. It's a gift. Consider it payback for all the things I've put you through over the years," he teased._

 _Betty shyly smiled at him._

" _Okay," she relented. "Thanks for doing this. And you really didn't have to go with me either. I'm sure watching a bunch of teenage kids sing and dance isn't really your thing – in fact I know it isn't."_

" _Hey, it's my fault for messing up your clothes. And Justin's a great kid. I don't mind an amateur production every once in a while," he assured her. "It'll be fun."_

" _Yeah," she feigned excitement, still trying to wrap her head around what Daniel had said and the fact that he'd just bought her a dress that was way too expensive. Although, to him, spending $1,000 was probably like spending $50 to a normal person. Even so, something was going on with him._

"Betty? Hey, where were you just now?" Daniel snapped her out of it. "Are you okay? Do you need me to get someone?"

"No. I'm fine. I think I just remembered something though," she explained. "I don't know exactly when it happened, but I helped you redecorate your apartment and you bought me a dress for Justin's talent show."

"B, that's amazing!" he gently pulled her close, careful of her incision and weak state. "I think that happened about a week after your sister's wedding. _Damn_ , I loved how you looked in that dress . . ."

"You didn't plan that paint fight so you could play dress-up with me, did you?" she flirted.

"No, but I'm glad it happened. I couldn't make my eyes stop wandering toward you in that dress the entire time," he mused.

" _Oh, my god!_ Did you drop our tickets at the booth on purpose just so you could check out my ass?" she recalled another part of the memory.

"Guilty," he admitted, sheepishly.

" _Daniel!_ " she berated, shoving his chest.

" _What?!_ It's not a crime to check out your sexy best friend, is it?" he innocently shrugged.

"Apparently you had no qualms about thinking dirty thoughts about me," Betty huffed in annoyance. "I guess _I_ still value our friendship more than that."

"Betty, you know I did, too. Honestly, I did. I'd never hurt you or treat you like you were just a pretty face. You've always meant so much more to me than that. But hey, _I_ bought that dress. What was so wrong about enjoying the benefits of it?" he argued, flashing that sexy, boyish grin of his.

That grin could win over anyone – even her.

"I give up – I'm too tired to fight. C'mere," she smiled, teasing his bottom lip.

"Betty, I was flirting, we don't have to do this," Daniel told her.

"I know you were. And I was stalling for all the wrong reasons – reasons that don't even matter anymore. You're not my boss, we're not just friends – you're my _husband_. I want you, Daniel. I want to fall in love with you again," she confessed. "And part of that is kissing you – truly kissing you. I know almost four years' worth about you personally. But the physical data is lacking. I need to know all of you. And maybe if we're lucky, a little lip-action might trigger more memories, too."

"What about the sterile atmosphere turn-off?" he asked.

"I guess we'll just have to power through it. I can, if you can?" she challenged.

"Did you even have to ask?" he grinned and devoured her lips.

Betty got lost in the moment, not even caring about the taste of garlic in his mouth, only how wonderful it felt to be so thoroughly kissed that she wasn't left contemplating, "Was that it?". Honestly she was surprised at how natural it was - nothing awkward like bumping foreheads or noses. She might not consciously know what kissing Daniel was like, but her instincts obviously did.

Her hands and lips knew exactly where to go without hesitation. Their tongues dueled, exploring the depths of each other's mouths as if she and Daniel hadn't been together in years. She fingered the hair at the nape of his neck and traced the lines of his face. His hands caressed her cheeks and ran through her hair. His lips made a slow seductive trail down her neck, and concentrated on the curve between her neck and shoulder. His breath drew her in to the point where she knew she'd have a mark the next day, but she didn't care. In fact, she secretly kind of liked the idea of Daniel Meade branding her as his own. She guided his lips back to hers again, and _god_ it felt like she was right where she belonged. She pulled back before things got too intense, but didn't regret any second of it.

" _God_ , I missed being able to do that," Daniel confessed as they came up for air.

"I understand why," Betty grinned and sucked on his swollen bottom lip. "That was definitely not something I ever pictured doing with you!"

They both laughed.

"As much as I'd like to continue doing this all day, there are still a million questions I have. Plus, I'm sure my family is waiting to see me, too. Unless . . . maybe they aren't speaking to me?" she worried.

"Baby, why would you think that?" Daniel asked.

"Because I abandoned them. I went to London instead of staying here to help them out," she explained.

"B, I told you last night that we are all so proud of you and what you've accomplished. No one is upset with you for pursuing your dreams and what you wanted for once. We love you – don't ever question that," he assured her. "Everyone has been coming to see you and take care of you. Wilhelmina even makes a weekly visit. And Connor showed up with flowers."

"Wait – Connor? I thought he was still in jail?" Betty questioned.

"Willie got The Senator to reduce his sentence to a month and let him out on good behavior," Daniel explained. "Hilda made a rotation schedule to make sure you weren't alone. She, Marc, Amanda, and Justin made sure you were well-groomed once a week. Marc, your dad, and sometimes Amanda when she was feeling up to it, watched telenovelas together and tried to coax you out of your coma with food. Mom's been sitting with you, knitting baby blankets, and giving you the daily dish on Wilhelmina's antics. When Christina was here, she'd talk about Stuart and William, and all the crazy designs Amanda tried to get past her and on the racks while she's been working for her. Your dad, Tyler, Bobby, and I watched the games in here - Alexis and DJ, too when they came. Sometimes we'd play cards and deal you in. I know it sounds strange, but we were trying anything to get you to wake up."

"That's so sweet! I didn't realize how much people cared," she sniffled and wiped her eyes.

"Yeah, Gio and his wife sent a deli gift basket and flowers, too," he added.

"Hopefully you stayed away from the salami," she smirked.

"You'll never let that go, will you?" he complained.

"Daniel, your entire office needed to be aired out and I had to cancel your afternoon meetings when the Zantac and Beano didn't work," she snickered.

"Go away!" he pouted.

"Oh come on, Daniel. You have to admit it was a _little_ funny," she coaxed, kissing his cheek, then his nose, and his lips, before resting her forehead against his. "Right?"

"Yeah, okay," he reluctantly agreed, toying with a lock of her hair. "You know it was no walk on the runway when Marc forced you to eat that veggie burger for lunch either."

"We're even," Betty sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you that Suzuki did a 'Betty & Baby Watch' segment on Fashion Buzz, updating everyone on your status. He and his family even sent flowers and a gift basket. Strangers have sent things, too," he pointed to the elaborate display along the right front and side walls of her room. "I'd prepare to be bombarded by the press in a few hours. Word gets out fast, unfortunately, and I can only hold them off for so long."

"Wow, I didn't realize it was such a big deal. I guess I should have though, since you're involved," she replied.

"You're pretty popular, now, too. And it's not just because you're married to me. Your magazine is really successful. Its numbers aren't as big as MODE, but then again, MODE is a lot more established and caters to a different demographic."

"I guess that makes sense . . . but if you were with me in London, what were you doing?" she asked.

"I'm the Creative Director for Royal Athletics – it's another Dunne magazine," he answered.

"Are you happy there?" she wondered.

"Yeah, I am. I still like American sports better, but European ones aren't that bad and I don't have to deal with all the paperwork and stress that being an EIC had," he said.

"Who's been covering us while we've been gone?" Betty worried.

"Well, Lindsay just bumped your creative director up to temporary EIC. You guys had agreed to do that anyway once you went on maternity leave. And my assistant and the senior graphics editor are filling in for me. I've been trying to work from here, but they do the rest," Daniel explained.

"Oh. What happens if my memory doesn't come back? I don't know that magazine at all. How the hell can I run something I know nothing about?" she panicked.

Daniel started laughing.

"What? What's so funny? Daniel, why are you laughing at me?!" she shoved his chest, frustrated by his reaction.

"I'm sorry, B. I know this must be hard for you. But Betty, you started out in a _fashion_ magazine – the furthest place from where you wanted to go. You knew _nothing_ about it. Yet in four years you managed to make it all the way to an offer of a full-fledged editor. You can't tell me that you wouldn't be capable of jumping back in at a magazine that actually had your personal vision," he pointed out.

"You're right. I'm worrying about nothing. And maybe it won't even be an issue anyway, because maybe I'll have my memory back by then," she said, cheerily.

"There's my Butterfly Queen!" he smiled and held up his hand for a high-five.

"I see some things haven't changed," Betty teased, hitting his hand.

Daniel chuckled.

"Except, since when did you start calling me that?" she asked.

"Not long after we were together in London. I kept teasing you about a nickname after the wedding. This one finally met your approval," he recalled. "I call you B, for short."

Betty smiled, shyly.

"Did those names have something to do with chipmunks and Britney Spears?" she wondered. "You can laugh at me if you want; my mind's still extremely fuzzy."

"No – no you're right, they did," he answered, excited that she remembered something else. "We sang karaoke after the reception – you were really drunk and sang 'Hit Me Baby, One More Time' while attempting to do a lap dance on an old guy and then me before I stopped you. The next day, we hung out with your sister and Bobby and I found out his nickname for you. So that's where that came from."

"Wow . . . I wish I could remember more than bits and pieces of things," she sighed.

"It'll all come back," he assured her, kissing her forehead. "Just look at how much you've remembered so far. I didn't expect this much so soon."

"You're right," she smiled. "Daniel? Is there any chance you have some of that risotto left over? I'm getting hungry."

"Sorry, baby, it's all gone. But our families went to lunch and I let them know you're awake. So I'm sure all of them will be in here when they're done and will bring you some food. It won't be Lettice, but anything's better than hospital food, right? And I'll have Eduardo send you some for dinner, if you want?" he offered.

"That's sounds good. Thank you," she smiled.

"I think the nurse should be here soon with Scarlett," he said.

"Good," she smiled. "Scarlett Rosa Meade. I'm so excited!"

"Are you sure you don't want it to be Suarez-Meade?" he asked.

"Positive. I don't want our daughter to have a complicated last name. I probably only hyphenated _my_ name for business purposes," Betty assumed.

"You did. And I just didn't want to screw up her birth certificate only to have you find it years from now and yell at me for it," he joked.

"Daniel, I wouldn't do that – you act like I don't trust you to do the right thing," she defended herself.

"I wouldn't blame you for it," he told her. "It's not like I haven't screwed up a thousand times in the past."

"Stop beating yourself up," Betty insisted. "You're a good man who's made some mistakes. But you learned from them and have become the man I admire and trust."

"Thank you," Daniel smiled, then stared off into space with a worried expression.

"You'll make a wonderful father, Daniel," Betty assured him.

"How did you -" he started to question her ability to read his mind again.

"Because I know you," she reminded him. "You're brooding again. Wondering if you have what it takes. And trust me, you do. I'm sure I wouldn't have married you, or be raising this child with you if I hadn't thought that. And I think that now, too. You stood up for Justin when his own father wouldn't. You spent time with him after Santos died. You were ready to be a father to DJ. You're still there for both boys when they need you and even when they don't. And whenever you held baby William in your arms, I wanted to cry it was so sweet. You're the father of my child and I'm glad I ended up choosing you. I can't imagine any other guy I've known being so perfect for the job . . . so perfect for _me_. I don't know why I never saw it before, when you've been right beside me all of these years . . . I –"

"Knock, knock!" the nurse interrupted them. "I have someone here who's missed her mommy!"

They both carefully re-positioned themselves on their backs, sitting upright on the hospital bed.

The nurse handed the baby over to Betty and gave the new parents some privacy.

" _Oh my god!_ Daniel, I think she's gotten even more adorable since last night!" Betty cooed, holding their daughter in her arms. "Hi, Scarlett! What do you think of your name, Scarlett Rosa Meade? It was your daddy's idea, so we can thank him by giving him lots of hugs and kisses, right?"

Daniel smiled at Betty and smoothed the hair on Scarlett's head.

"We're a family," she beamed, tears in her eyes as Scarlett grabbed onto her finger.

"Yeah, we really are," he grinned, tenderly kissing his wife's cheek and their baby's forehead.

Betty couldn't get over how right everything felt, despite having it all seem to suddenly fall into her lap without warning.


	16. Chapter 16

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The hospital had released Betty on Wednesday. Because of everything that had happened to her, the doctors wanted to monitor her for a few extra days. She and Daniel had been staying at her dad's house while she recovered. Even though it was small and crowded with everyone coming and going every day from visiting or staying over, she felt more comfortable there than she would have at a hotel or even at Claire's. She needed the sense of familiarity in a world where she still felt lost.

Daniel had offered to stay in Hilda's old room, but Betty insisted he stay with her. Even though she was still confused on how to feel about him, the warmth of his arms around her helped. She missed being held by a man, and there was something special about being held by Daniel. She couldn't describe it, but even if she had to wake up ten times in the middle of the night for the baby, the hours she did sleep were quality ones.

Plus, it was more convenient having Daniel there when Scarlett had her 2AM feeding or needed a diaper change. They were all in the same room at the same time. Once, Daniel even told her to go back to sleep and that he'd change Scarlett himself. It was a very sweet gesture, except he didn't put her diaper on correctly. The next time it was full, it got all over the place – including both of them.

"Hey," she opened her eyes to find him staring at her.

"Hey, my beautiful Butterfly Queen," Daniel gave one of his sexy smiles and brushed the hair away from her face before softly kissing her nose.

"How long have you been up?" she wondered, his stubble tickling her cheek as he playfully nuzzled her.

"Long enough to watch you sleep . . . you were mumbling something about me and London," he replied.

"Oh . . . I was dreaming about you finding out that I took the job when Marc sent a mass email . . . I was hurt that you didn't seem upset about me leaving . . . Did that really happen? Did I not tell you?" she asked, still half-asleep.

"It did. And I was angry . . . so angry that I bottled it up inside and tried to play it cool. You didn't tell me you even got an _offer_ and then all of a sudden I read this email from Marc that you were leaving," he recalled. "Those days were not my finest moments, but I'm glad you remembered something else."

Betty felt guilty and started to say something when Scarlett started to wail.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"10:30AM," Daniel said, glancing at his watch.

"It's time for her to be fed," Betty realized.

Daniel got up and calmed their daughter down while Betty grabbed her feeding tent and adjusted herself. He handed Scarlett to her when she told him she was ready, then turned back around as she got their baby settled. She knew it was a natural thing and Daniel was her husband, but she wasn't sure she was comfortable enough to be that intimate with him yet. And Daniel hadn't seemed to be offended. He'd respected her privacy.

The few memories she had of them even discussing 'boobs' always ended in him being very uncomfortable . . . Except for when he read about her flashing Gio – then he'd seemed extremely fascinated – even jealous. And who knows, maybe he secretly had been.

"Okay, you can turn around now," she told him.

Daniel sat beside her on the bed again, an awkward silence filling the air.

"Is she latching on? I know she had a problem with that last night," he asked. "She wouldn't stop crying and settle down."

"Yeah, she's good . . . I think we were both tired, that's all," Betty answered.

"Good," he nervously cleared his throat.

"You don't have to stay, if you don't want to," she said, sensing his nervousness.

"No, I'm good . . . I want to be here . . . To be honest, I'm curious to know what's going on in there. She keeps making these sucking noises . . . Does that hurt?" he asked.

"Not really, she's just coming up for air. It only really hurt the first few times I fed her, but now I'm getting used to it," she replied, and wondered if she should let him watch. Scarlett _was_ his child, after all. And even if they stayed together and had other children, she wouldn't be able to breast feed them like she was with Scarlett. "Do you want to watch?"

"Betty, it's okay. I don't want to make you uncomfortable," Daniel assured her.

"No, Daniel. You should see this . . . it's really amazing," she told him and carefully unfastened the tent.

"Wow . . . look at her go . . ." he chuckled. "You just fed her a couple of hours ago. She acts like she hasn't had anything to eat all day!"

"I know," Betty smiled.

Scarlett unlatched her mouth and leaned her head against Betty's breast, giving a little yawn and closing her eyes.

"Wait, is she falling asleep right in the middle?" he laughed. "That's hilarious! Look at her little face . . ."

"I know. Sometimes she does that . . . she'll get so tired she'll take a tiny nap in the middle," Betty giggled.

Daniel tenderly kissed Betty's temple.

"What?" she curiously looked up at him.

"Thank you for this . . . I know it took a lot for you to let me in," he sincerely told her. "This is a moment I'll never forget – sorry – I didn't meant it that way – I –"

"Daniel, it's okay – I get it," she smiled at his adorable stuttering. "And you don't have to thank me. She's your child – you shouldn't have to miss a minute of her life."

Daniel smiled lovingly at his wife.

Betty leaned her head on his shoulder and he rested his head on hers as they contentedly waited for their daughter to finish her meal.

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" _JELL-O!_ I'm here for Princess Pudgy's afternoon chocolate fix! It's mousse this time and get this – only 60 calories! Who knew you could eat mousse without the caboose? Okay, okay, even _I_ knew that was lame! Daniel – catch! No more Ben  & Jerry's for you, Flabby McSaggy! Your sympathy binge is over today!" Marc insisted, plopping on the bed beside Betty and taking Scarlett. "Hey, Mini-Meade! Did you miss your Uncle Marc? _Anywhooo_ . . . I talked with the hot PT guy downstairs – you know, the one with the abs? He was helping Mandi with her leg. And I think my tennis elbow is acting up again."

"Marc, that 'hot PT guy' is Bobby's cousin. He's here to help both Amanda and Betty – not for you to fake an injury and waste his time," Daniel told him. "And since when do you play . . . anything?"

"So? He can multitask," Marc scoffed. "And it's a Wii injury."

He and Betty both looked skeptically at him.

"It's a _real thing_ ," he maintained. " _You_ try playing with Mandi after Tyler turned her into a virtual Billie Jean King!"

Betty snorted and Daniel rolled his eyes.

"Marc, I really don't think Bobby would appreciate you hitting on his cousin. Especially since he just broke off his engagement," Daniel warned.

"What a coincidence – I just broke off _my_ engagement," Marc countered. "Troy and I are more like Taylor  & Kanye, right now - and I've been on Kanye's side since the beginning. Girl's got _nothing_ on Beyoncé. I never understood -"

"Wait – Marc, since when did you get engaged?" Betty asked, feeling like she'd missed a decade of her life instead of a year.

"I think that's my cue to leave . . ." Daniel replied, getting up and grabbing his phone and laptop. "I'm going to check in at work and see how they're doing at the shoot."

"It's Saturday, Daniel," Betty argued.

"I know, but they've been working overtime to get everything in on time," he explained. "It's too crazy here with Amanda and Christina and everyone downstairs. I'll be at Mom's for a few hours. She's been pulling one of her guilt trips on me again about never seeing me except in times of tragedy. Want me to pick up dinner?"

"Sure, Papi needs to rest for a change. Hilda said he's been cooking like crazy ever since the accident. And bring your mom, too - Scarlett wants some Grandma-time," she replied.

"And it'll get Mom off my back for a while – you're a genius!" he grinned.

"I know," Betty smirked. "Just call the house when you're ready to leave . . . I really miss my phone."

"I'll take care of it while I'm out," he promised, giving her a brief but loving kiss on the lips.

"Thank you," she smiled and brought him down for another kiss.

"Whatever you do, don't get her one of those hot pink cases with the all the hideous butterfly bling," Marc warned. "I managed to stop her the last time – _don't give in to the madness!_ "

" _Oooh!_ They make those for the new IPhones, too?" Betty's eyes lit up.

" _Damn it!_ Me and my big gorgeous mouth!" Marc groaned.

Both Daniel and Betty laughed.

"And have some dignity, Woman! You're the EIC of a semi-fashionable magazine – not iCarly!" Marc reminded her.

Betty rolled her eyes.

Marc whipped out his phone and showed her a pic from the Coach website.

"Here. Now _this_ is tolerable. _I_ wouldn't pick it, but then again, I wouldn't pick 99.9% of what you do -" he scoffed.

"Marc!" Daniel and Betty both yelled.

" _As I was saying . . ._ it's Coach. And since you must, it has butterflies on it. But it's subtle – not all _Aaaaaaaahhhhh!_ . . . like you used to be," he described.

"Marc, you're lucky I'm still weak from the coma. But if you don't zip it – I'll kick your ass when I'm back to normal!" Betty warned.

"Bitchy, bitchy . . ." he grumbled.

"I'll get you whatever one you want, B," Daniel offered.

"Thank you, Daniel. As much as it pains me to say it, I think Marc's right. Go with the Coach one," Betty decided, reluctantly. "I promise I'll pay you back for everything when I figure out my financial situation."

"Baby, we're married. You don't have to worry about it," Daniel assured her. "My money is yours and yours is mine – literally. We have a joint checking account and everything."

"Wow . . ." Betty responded, surprised. She had assumed with Daniel being a Meade that he'd want a pre-nup and separate bank accounts. "You trust me and our relationship that much?"

"Wow is right . . . _Hello, Mrs. Moneybags!_ I love you even more, now!" Marc reacted. "I was considering a Mustang, but now I'm thinking more like a Ferrari . . ."

"Of course I do, Betty. I know everything's happening so fast for you, and it might scare you to hear this, but you're it for me. This wasn't a 'Hey, you know what'd be crazy?' type thing. This is forever," Daniel told her.

" _Aww . . ._ watching straight love is like eating an entire black tie cheesecake. It's sweet while it goes down, but then you need to throw up afterward. Now I'm forced to skip my cup of mousse," Marc cringed.

"Daniel . . ." Betty felt butterflies forming in her stomach again. She didn't know why his words got to her. Of course it was forever – that's what marriage was supposed to be – 'til death – not 'til you find someone better. She was never sure if Daniel felt that, though. His parents cheated on each other, Molly died not long after he married her and he knew that going in . . . what basis for marriage did he really have to go on? And how could _she_ promise _him_ forever when she wasn't even sure if she loved him that way?

"Oh! And I knew you'd worry, so I already called the credit card companies and the bank about you losing your cards in the crash," he said.

"Is there anything you _don't_ do?" she flirted. "I feel like you're _my_ assistant now."

"Hey, I always said it would happen," he shrugged with cute smile.

Betty giggled.

They caught each other's eyes for a moment, before Marc got tired of the display.

" _Hello . . .!_ There are two other people in this room. So if you wanna make love or whatever it is you two do – go somewhere else!" Marc complained.

"Well, I'd better go. I'll call you," Daniel said and kissed her again. "Bye, Butterfly. I love you."

"I-I . . . um . . . Bye," Betty stammered, unable to utter those three words yet.

He nodded and walked around to the other side of the bed.

"Bye, my little Caterpillar," Daniel quietly said, kissing his child's head. He patted Marc's shoulder and left.

"Sooo . . . aside from the hetero display that made me want to gouge my eyes out, that last part was a little awkward," Marc questioned. "Are you and Insta-Hubby still not back to being luvahs yet?"

"I can't say it . . . I want to . . . but I can't," Betty confessed.

"You mean the L-word? Oh, _pisshhh_! You _cannot_ be telling me this! You survived a plane crash and a coma! You gave birth to a baby you didn't know about, and you're whining about one freakin' little word?!" he scoffed. "What's the big damn deal? You married Mr. Uni-ab, I'm sure you've said it a zillion times before."

"But that's just it - I don't remember marrying Daniel. I can't just say the words when I'm not sure if they're real to me yet . . . I can't do that to him," she explained.

"So what _do_ you feel when you're with him – and don't get too gushy. There's only so much I can take in a day!" Marc asked.

"Different, but good . . . and a little awkward. I'm still getting used to the fact that he's not my boss anymore and we're not just friends," she said.

"Taquito, you two were never just friends – you were luvahs," Marc corrected her. "You know all the skeletons in Danny Boy's closet just like I know Willie's. You've done so many unthinkable things for him and he's done an equal amount for you. Adding in the facts that you're both hetero and have moral compasses that put Gandhi to shame made it inevitable that you'd one day fall for each other."

Betty smiled and rolled her eyes at Marc's exaggerated perspective.

"His kisses _are_ amazing . . . I could get lost in his gorgeous blue eyes – I never really noticed them before . . . and I feel safe in his arms," she admitted.

"He _does_ have incredible biceps – _you're welcome!_ " Marc remarked.

"What?" Betty asked.

"When I was his assistant, I set up a time every day for him to tone his arms and abs. I could tell he was slacking off at the gym, after Molly. He must still be keeping up with it – well, until you know," he clarified.

Scarlett started to cry.

"Hey there, Scary Spice," Marc rocked Scarlett in his arms, trying to calm her down. "Don't go getting all Naomi on me. I will teach you _sooo_ many things your mommy and daddy won't. I'll even show you pics of when your mommy first started at MODE. They are _hi_ – wait for it – _larious!"_

Scarlett smiled and cooed.

"See - I knew even before you were born we were gonna be besties. Pretty soon it's gonna be Babymania around here. You'll have two new cousins to boss around. But you wanna know a secret, Baby Red? You'll always be my favorite little Luvbug – just don't tell your aunts or cousins. _Ulchh . . ._ I've gotta go, Miss Baby Phat, 'cause it looks like you wanna get Juicy all over my Couture," he handed the drooling baby back over to Betty and kissed Betty's cheek. "Bye, Big Mama! I'll come back tomorrow and we'll catch up on those telenovelas with your Papi."

"Oh, I thought you were staying for dinner?" Betty asked.

"Not tonight – I'm having _Italian . . ._ " he sinfully grinned.

Betty rolled her eyes.

"Be careful, okay?" she advised. "He's Bobby's cousin. And I don't want _you_ hurt either."

"Fine," he huffed.

"Marc?" she said.

" _Yeess . . ._ " he responded.

"Thank you for being here for me," Betty smiled, gratefully.

"Well I couldn't very well lose my little Chimichanga, could I? Who else would I make fun of?" he teased.

" _Marc_ ," she berated.

"I'm really glad you're okay, Betty. You're my bestie . . . you've managed to eat your way into my heart," Marc admitted

Betty ignored the latter part of his comment.

" _Aww, Marc . . ._ But I thought Amanda was your bestie?" she wondered.

"She is – but she's my fun, irrational bestie. You're my boring, sensible bestie – the one I can go to with the serious stuff, like when Dolce fights with Gabanna," he explained. "But if you tell anyone that, I'll steal your new Balenciaga bag and give it to my clueless assistant – kidding . . . mostly."

"Marc, I don't have a Balenciaga bag," Betty reminded him. "Unless, I got one in the last year?"

"No, you're right – wrong bestie. Then I'll find your secret stash of fattening snacks and steal _them_ ," Marc countered with a yawn.

"I think you need to go home and rest. You look tired," she said.

"Well, my schedule is as screwed up as Lindsey Lohan before rehab, because _Miss Scarlett_ decided she was ready to make her grand debut into this world. And frankly, my dear, she didn't give a damn that people needed their beauty sleep," he good-naturedly teased the baby. "Then her Memory-losing Mama decided she couldn't possibly be outshone, so she had to go and bleed all over the place and freak everyone out. Talk about _me_ being a drama queen – you're definitely the Queen from Queens!"

Betty giggled.

"You do realize I didn't ask for any of this to happen – especially waking up in labor with no previous knowledge of the baby I was delivering? Not to mention having no clue I was married to Daniel," she reminded him.

"I know. I'm just doing what we always do," he winked. "And I'm sorry about you not being able to carry another baby . . . But hey, at least you won't have to get any fatter than you already are . . ."

"Marc!" she glared at him. "You remember that ass-kicking? I think I might just leave it up to my brother-in-law. He'd be all for it – especially when he finds out you're dating his cousin . . ."

" _Gaaahhh!_ Fine. Did that coma make you lose your sense of humor, too? You can never take an insult anymore!" he relented. "Do you really think Bobby would have a problem with it?"

"Only if you treat Joey like you treated Cliff and Troy. Just be the nice guy I know you are deep down, instead of trying to play it supercool and like you're better than they are. These guys are people, Marc – not boy-toys. They have feelings just like you do. Remember that and you'll be fine," Betty advised.

"Look at you, my little Enchilada . . . giving _me_ love advice . . . Are we in Oz?" he teased.

She laughed.

"Shut up! I know I'm screwed up, too. Here I have a husband who any girl would consider the man of their dreams, a precious new baby girl, and I'm still confused on exactly how to feel," Betty sighed in frustration. "It's like I'm living someone else's life. And I can't feel what I know I need to feel . . . what I'd felt before. I just wish I could remember how I got to this point, instead of having to have people tell me."

"Well, maybe you don't have to feel just one thing . . . Maybe it's okay to feel a little bit of everything. And stop pressuring yourself. If I were you, I'd be screaming at the top of my lungs until you slapped me like Cher and told me to 'Snap out of it!'. But you, _you_ are Betty Suarez-Meade. You can take anything that _literally_ hits you in the face and walk away smiling. And what you've got right now is a _good_ thing. I know I talk smack about the Grinning Idiot, but Daniel really is a great guy. And you two are made for each other. Just give it some time and relax," Marc told her.

Betty squeezed his hand.

"Thanks, Marc," she smiled.

"And if that doesn't work, I could give you a good bitch-slap and fling you across a wall?" he offered a little too eagerly. "Although, I'd probably need a forklift to do it with . . ."

" _Marc!_ " she objected.

" _What?!_ It always works on TV," he innocently shrugged.

"I think I'll take my chances and let it happen naturally," Betty turned him down.

"You take all the fun out of everything," Marc pouted.

"Oh, quit yer whinin' an' bugger off!" Christina lightheartedly teased as she came in the room. "Yeh know, yeh get her the entire week – I only have two days, so shoo!"

"Okay, okay! Don't go all Loch Ness Monster on me!" he complained. "You're still making me that couture suit for free, right?"

"Oh, _bollocks!_ Not that again!" she groaned and rolled her eyes.

" _Please . . ._ I need it for MODE's charity event next month. Christian Bale is gonna be there and I _sooo_ wanna get in his Bat Cave!" he begged.

" _Ewww!_ " both girls exclaimed.

"Oh, _come on!_ You two were thinking it, too!" he accused.

They both reluctantly agreed.

"I'll get you into the Red Carpet premiere of Matt Damon's new movie?" he offered to Christina.

"Fine. But only if yeh stop yammerin' 'bout it an' bein' a pain in meh arse!" she retorted.

"Going!" Marc scurried out of the room.

"Yeh know, I didn't think I'd missed that little wanker so much until I saw him again this past month. He sorta grows on yeh like a big hairy wart, doesn't he?" Christina joked.

"He's an acquired taste," Betty admitted. "But he and Amanda and I have been through a lot together."

Christina nodded in agreement and sat down on the bed.

"And Daniel . . .?" she asked.

"I'm working on it," Betty answered, sighing.

" _Oooo . . ._ That doesn't sound good. I thought you two were like bangers and mash?" Christina questioned.

"If you mean getting along, we are. The beyond-friend stuff is tricky for me, though," Betty admitted.

"Not enough memories, huh?" Christina assumed, taking Scarlett in her arms.

"Not the right ones, no," Betty replied, frustrated. "I keep remembering bits and pieces, but I can't recall actually being in love with Daniel. And I'm trying to fall in love with him now – without the memories. But it's not happening like I thought it would. He's done everything right and then some. He's so patient with me. And when we kiss or when he holds me, I feel like I'm right where I belong. But every time I feel like I'm close to actually saying the words, I can't get friend-Daniel out of my head. I'm not sure if I ever will . . ."

"Well, this _is_ the same numpty who's slept with hundreds of skinny models an' couldn't remember how to tie his own shoes if yeh weren't around. I can see why that might be a wee bit of a problem fer yeh," Christina sympathized.

"He's changed, Christina . . . or at least I thought he had . . . until he started dating Trista. She's got the IQ of a napkin and she makes Daniel dumb whenever he's around her. Why would he want to regress to his old habits when he's come so far?"

"Betty, yer talkin' like he's still datin' the bimbo. He's not – _he's married to you, love_ ," Christina reminded her.

"I know . . . but what if he starts going backward again? What if he gets tired of boring old predictable me? What if I let myself fall and . . ." Betty trailed off, attempting to control her tears.

"Oh, Betty . . . is _that_ what yer afraid of?" she asked. "I know I always pissed and moaned 'bout the way Daniel treated yeh. But if yeh could've seen the fear in that man's eyes when he thought he'd lost yeh . . . it was as if someone had yanked out his heart and torn it to pieces . . . An' the way he looks at yeh every time yer eyes meet . . . I don't think he'd ever stray. An' if he did, Stuart an' I would _both_ come an' beat on his scrawny arse."

Betty weakly smiled at the thought of her friends coming to protect her.

"He means everything to me – he's my best friend. I-I don't want to lose that – I don't want to lose _him_ . . . I-I'm scared," Betty sniffled and buried her head in her hands.

Christina tried to comfort her friend the best she could with the baby in her arms.

" _Shhhh . . ._ It'll be okay, love . . ." she soothed. "Try not to think of what _could_ happen an' concentrate on what yeh have right now – a randy young gent who's rich and adores yeh. I'll never get to live out my fantasy as Mrs. Matt Damon, but _you_ get to be _Mrs. Daniel Meade_ and that's _far_ from terrible in my opinion – especially when yeh know the real man an' not the celebrity."

Betty nodded. She knew in her heart that Christina and Marc were right. If only she could make her head think the same.

"Yeh know, you two made one gorgeous little one," Christina said, smiling at Scarlett. "Oohh, now there yeh go spittin' up again . . . s'pose I need to get used to that . . ."

"Wait . . . you mean . . . are you?" Betty questioned, surprised.

"Mmmmhhhhhmmm . . ." Christina beamed.

"Oh my god! Christina! That's amazing – I'm so happy for you!" Betty perked up at the good news.

"I found out the day of the crash. I tried to call yeh and Amanda, then Daniel called me with the news . . . I'm five months along. Bugger me - I thought I was only puttin' on a few extra pounds . . . Hope it's a girl this time. I'm surrounded by two messy unkempt boys who muck up their knickers an' leave a trail of mud on meh kitchen floor. Would be nice to have a girl to dress up in frilly frocks an' have tea parties with," Christina wistfully smiled. "But I know I'll love this baby either way. An' at least I know it's mine, this time."

"True. I still shudder every time I think about what Wilhelmina did to your family and Daniel's," Betty recalled.

"She's come a long way though, love. She was actually worried about yeh. Maybe there _is_ a tiny little heart in her somewhere," Christina joked.

Betty giggled.

"So are yeh an' Daniel movin' back to London?" Christina wondered.

"That's where we live and work now, I guess . . . It feels strange . . . and I'm so happy right here. I've got my family and Claire . . . Marc . . . Hilda's due in a month . . ." Betty contemplated. "Amanda and Tyler are moving back – she's got her job with you -"

"No – Amanda's stayin' here. I just had a long talk with her an' we decided that I should start a line in New York," Christina informed her. "She'll be runnin' it an' eventually start another one of her own under my label – once she gets some inspiration that doesn't scream bloody slut, that is."

" _Oh my god!_ That's so great for both of you!" Betty exclaimed. "I can't wait to congratulate her! Maybe I can get Bobby or Tyler to carry me downstairs in a little bit. I know that they did therapy on my legs while I was in a coma and it's helping now, too. But I still feel so wobbly on them that I don't trust myself. Not to mention, just having a baby and a hysterectomy doesn't help, either."

Christina nodded.

"I'm so sorry 'bout that, love. As if yeh didn't have enough bloody shit to deal with," her friend patted her hand.

"I know . . . I wish I could at least remember what it felt like to carry her . . . feel her first kick . . ." Betty sighed, wistfully.

"How's Daniel dealin' with it?" she asked.

"He's been amazing . . . I couldn't have asked for a better husband," Betty replied. "Which is why this has been so hard for me. He's so irresistible in every way, it's like it's too good to be true. I don't want to hurt him, but I don't want him to end up hurting me either."

"Yeh still haven't answered meh question about moving back, love," she reminded her.

"I don't know . . . Daniel and I haven't talked about it. I guess I just assumed that's where we'd go once the baby and I could travel again – not that I'm looking forward to another trip on a plane after what happened," she pondered. "It never really occurred to me that I had a choice. I mean, my new life is there . . . I have responsibilities and so does Daniel. I can't really ask him to quit his job and stay here – especially since he told me he's already done that before."

"Well, yeh've got a while to think about it, love. But yeh need to talk to Daniel - an' don't be afraid to let him know how yeh feel. If yeh don't, neither one of yeh will be happy," Christina advised.

They looked up when they heard a knock on the open doorway.

"Hey," Daniel said. "Christina, can I talk to Betty for a minute?"

Christina handed Scarlett back over to Betty after cooing at her one last time. She got up and headed for the door.

"Take all the time yeh need, love," she smiled and patted his arm as she left.

"Daniel, why are you back so early? I thought you were working and spending time with your mom? She came with you, didn't she?" Betty asked, confused.

"Yeah, she's downstairs talking with Hilda and Amanda and your dad," he answered. "Uh, Betty, I'm not really sure how to say this . . . I tried to go over it on the way back here . . ."

Betty put a sleeping Scarlett down in her bassinette.

Daniel came over to the bed and sat down.

"Daniel, what is it? It's us, isn't it? I'm not who you married and it's too hard for you, right?" she automatically assumed. "You're ending this?"

" _What?!_ No! _God, no!_ Betty that's not it at all!" he insisted, shocked. "Don't _ever_ think that even for a second!"

Betty nodded, trying not to cry. Unfortunately, her emotions were out of her control. _Damn her stupid hormones_ – they were all over the place!

"C'mere, baby," Daniel said in a soothing voice as he took her in his arms, put his lips to her forehead, then held her as close as he could without affecting her incision. He placed gentle kisses on both of her cheeks, erasing the tears that had fallen from her saddened and fearful eyes. "I will _never_ leave you, Betty – not even if you asked me to. I'm not giving up on us. No matter how long it takes, I know someday we'll make it through everything. I promise."

Betty slightly pulled away from Daniel and gathered her composure.

"So . . . if that wasn't what you needed to talk about, then what is it? What's so terrible?" she wondered. "Is your mom alright? Wilhelmina didn't pull something on her again, did she?"

"She's fine – she and Wilhelmina have been getting along better recently . . . I, uh, I checked in at work . . . approved everything at the shoot through the webcam . . . Anyway, Lindsay came on . . . They're scrapping the magazine after this issue goes out," he nervously told her.


	17. Chapter 17

"You're fired?!" Betty reacted, shocked and angered.

"Not fired . . . _let go_ ," he clarified. "And Lindsay still wants me to work at Dunne, it just won't be for Royal Athletics anymore."

"What happened? Why did he scrap the magazine? You told me it was doing well?" she asked.

"It was, until the last month when I wasn't there. Business for Dunne in general hasn't been too great and some changes needed to be made for budget reasons. Two magazines were cut because of it – mine, and a fine arts one," Daniel explained.

Scarlett started crying.

Daniel picked her up and calmed her down.

"I'm going to go take her downstairs to spend some time with Mom while we talk. I'll be right back," he promised.

Betty nodded, trying to process the information. She couldn't believe what was happening.

"Hey, I'm back," Daniel said, closing the door and sitting on the bed beside her.

Betty half-heartedly smiled.

"You said Lindsay still wants you to work at Dunne . . . What would you be doing instead?" she inquired.

"He offered me the Creative Director position at your magazine," he answered.

"But that's Millicent's job," Betty replied, shocked that she remembered her name and puzzled at the situation.

"I know . . . That's why I was so worried about telling you all of this," Daniel sighed.

"It's that bad isn't it?" she assumed.

"Millicent has been filling in for you while you've been gone. And she asked Lindsay to stay in that position," he continued.

" _Oh my god!_ Why didn't I see this before? That manipulative bitch has probably been gunning for my job since the beginning! She was just waiting for the right time to swoop in and take it! If I didn't know any better, I'd think that she hired someone to rig the plane so it'd crash . . ." Betty blurted out as all of her life at work in London suddenly came flooding back to her at once. "She's always been super nice to me and yet finds some way to make me look like an idiot in front of everyone. And you should see her whenever she's around Lindsay . . . always sucking up . . . But she was the only choice for my temp . . ."

"Betty? Are you okay?" Daniel asked, stroking her arm.

"Yeah . . . just remembering everything at work . . ." she answered, trying to absorb it all.

"Betty, that's great! You're really making progress!" he exclaimed. "I'm sorry your memories had to be triggered by all of this, though. And if it makes you feel any better, Lindsay refused to let Millicent have your job," he said.

"Great! So what are you not telling me?" she asked, nervously.

"He said he couldn't deny that Millicent has been doing an excellent job while you've been gone . . . So he's going to make her co-EIC when you come back," Daniel revealed.

" _What?!_ He can't! I-I built this magazine by myself! _I_ made the final decisions on _everything_ and he's just going to let her come in and take over?! She doesn't know _shit_ about the vision of this magazine! I bet she's already ruined it!" Betty exclaimed, completely freaking out.

"Apparently Lindsay doesn't think so. And the numbers are steady," Daniel replied with a sigh.

"Damn it, Daniel! Whose side are you on?!" Betty snapped, shocked that he would defend her boss and that conniving bitch over her.

" _Yours_ – always, Betty! I was just stating facts. Don't shoot the messenger!" he defended himself. "I fought for you. I told Lindsay how unfair this was . . . That you had done this all on your own and to have someone swoop in and reap the benefits of it was uncalled for. And you were in an accident caused by _his_ plane, on the way to cover a story for one of _his_ magazines. You shouldn't be punished for being absent during that period of time – _or_ for having a baby, for that matter."

"What did he say?" she curiously questioned, hoping for a good response.

"Lindsay said that that was exactly why he didn't make Millicent sole EIC. But he couldn't see demoting her back down to Creative Director after the 'outstanding' work she has done so far," Daniel reluctantly answered, hating to dash the glimmer of hope in Betty's eyes. "Considering your memory loss, he thinks she would be especially helpful with getting you back into the feel of the magazine again."

" _That is such bullshit!_ " Betty insisted, her voice cracking. "How can this be happening?"

"I don't know, baby. I don't know," Daniel said, taking her in his arms, stroking her silky dark brown hair as he kissed the top of her head. "But we can fight this. If this is still what you want, we can make it happen - I promise. I'll get my lawyer and –"

"No," she cut him off.

"No?" he questioned.

"I mean, I think I'm tired," she clarified. "I'm tired of not remembering everything; I'm tired of being afraid to feel how really I feel . . . I'm tired of having everything go wrong at once. I don't know if I'm up to fighting right now - not if you don't really want this."

"Betty, what are you saying?" Daniel reacted, shocked. "This is your dream job. You left everything behind for this opportunity. And now you're ready to just hand it over to the person who might have been trying to steal it from you all along?"

"Isn't that what you did with Wilhelmina? Weren't you tired of fighting with _her?_ " Betty countered.

"Yeah, but that's not why I left. I left because I wasn't going anywhere at that job. I left because of _you_ , Betty. You meant more to me than MODE, and I needed to start over. I needed to accomplish something on my own," he explained. "That's why I don't understand why you want to give this all up. _You earned this._ "

"I know . . . only I think maybe fate is trying to tell us something. Maybe we're not meant to be at Dunne anymore," she contemplated. "But I want to know what _you_ want, Daniel, and be honest. If you want the Creative Director position at my magazine, then take it. We'll fight and I'll make it work with Millicent if I have to. But if you don't, maybe we should talk about other options."

"What I want is for you to be happy . . . for us _both_ to be happy," he answered. "And what you're telling me makes me believe that you'd never truly be happy unless you had your job back . . . I can promise we can fight it – I'd even fight it for you, but I can't promise we'd win, so . . ."

"So . . . what now?" she wondered.

"I, uh, I've actually thought about this before – not someone stealing your job, but you someday leaving your magazine. I thought about us starting a magazine of our own. I-It's just an idea; it's a stupid fantasy . . ."

" _No!_ No, Daniel, it's not stupid at all – I love it!" Betty exclaimed, giving him one of her signature hugs. " _Owww!_ "

"Hey . . . Easy, baby! Your hugs have always been my favorite, but you don't want to pull out your stitches. Are you okay?" Daniel asked, concerned.

"I'm fine . . . _oww_ . . . just a little sore," she insisted.

"Here, lay back down. Your bandage needs to be changed anyway," he said, grabbing the kit. "I'll go get Hilda."

"No, Daniel. It's okay. I think we can safely say that we've already crossed the whole naked boundary thing this morning – well, again - for me, anyway. And that's not counting the time you made me check that questionable mole you had on your ass. Did you ever have that thing removed?"

Daniel chuckled.

"Of course I did. You dragged me to the dermatologist and _watched_ ," he reminded her.

"Oh, yeah . . . And I didn't do it for pleasure, Daniel," she pointed out. "You're such a big baby when it comes to needles – did you honestly think you wouldn't go running from a _scalpel_ if I didn't hold you down and let you squeeze my hand?"

"No . . ." Daniel reluctantly admitted, staring at the quilt on the bed.

"Which brings me to wonder if maybe I should get Hilda to do this after all?" Betty questioned.

"Betty I'm fine. I've had to see a lot of medical things since Molly and you've been in the hospital. Watching you bleed out was one of the scariest . . . I thought I was going to lose you all over again. I didn't let go of Scarlett for hours. I guess in a stupid way I thought if I did, I'd lose her, too. Mom and Tyler got me to take a break, though."

"Oh, Daniel . . ." she took his hand. "I'm so sorry I put you through that."

Daniel shrugged, modestly.

"Yeah, well, it wasn't your fault . . . Anyway, my point is that I think I can handle a simple bandage change," he smirked, cleaning his hands with an alcohol pad.

"Ookkaaay . . ." she commented, doubtfully.

"Could you, um, lift up your shirt and, um, pull down your pants a little?" Daniel asked, a little apprehensive of the situation.

Betty took advantage of the opportunity and decided to be spontaneous. To hell with thinking about what could happen. She needed to go with the moment and not hold back.

" _Oooh, Dr. McSexy_ , what would my husband think if he saw me playing striptease with you . . .?" Betty flirted, slowly following his request.

"I don't know . . . I guess we'll have to take that risk," Daniel flirted back; giving Betty a sexy stare, then gradually began to peel her bandage off.

She smiled.

" _Owww . . ._ You'd think by now they'd make something that wouldn't feel like it's ripping off your skin," Betty complained.

"Sorry, I tried to be gentle, but that last part kinda got stuck," he apologized, massaging her now red skin, and examined her incision. "It still looks okay, from what I can tell. I don't see any loose stitches."

"Good, then maybe I just pulled some muscles or something," she replied.

"Yeah," he said, cleaning away the dried blood and betadine around it that Hilda had missed and putting new gauze and Tegaderm on it. "All done. See – I told you I'd be fine."

"Okay, I was wrong," she unwillingly admitted.

"I love hearing you say that," he smiled.

" _Daniel . . .!_ " she smacked his chest and pulled him down with her by his shirt. "You're so lucky I don't have the strength for a pillow fight right now!"

Daniel grinned.

"What can I say? I guess I know exactly when I can get away with stuff," he smirked, running his fingers lightly along the side of her bare mid-drift, sending a warm sensation throughout her body.

"Do you?" she playfully countered, toying with the buttons on his shirt until a few came undone, sliding her hand beneath it to touch the warm skin of his bare chest.

Daniel teased her lips with his tongue before entering. Betty grabbed onto the back of his head, pulling him into her more, wanting as much of him as she could get at the moment. She undid the remaining buttons of his shirt and he quickly shrugged it off.

She felt his fingers work their way up underneath her t-shirt to her breasts, lightly touching the sides. She continued to get lost in the way his lips were traveling down her neck. They stopped, concentrating on the curve connecting her shoulder, driving her crazy. Daniel's fingers began to massage her breasts. It was normally a feeling she enjoyed, but not at that moment.

"Owww . . ." she groaned.

"A-Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" Daniel immediately stopped, concerned.

"I'm fine . . . I'm guess I'm just a little sensitive in that area right now . . . a little sensitive in a lot of areas, actually," Betty explained, embarrassed. "But we can still kiss, and I can focus on _you_ a little more . . ."

She allowed her hands to roam over his chest and arms, down to his firm ass and squeezed it.

"Betty, I don't think we should be doing this," Daniel stopped her.

"Oh. I-I'm sorry. I-I shouldn't have – I don't know what I was thinking!" her cheeks turned beat red.

"Betty," Daniel sighed.

She quickly pulled down her t-shirt, pulled up her pants, and attempted to hobble to the door.

"Betty, wait!" he told her, getting up to stop her. "You have to listen to me!"

She ignored his pleas, attempting to get out as fast as she could. She needed air, some time to think. Unfortunately, she ended up falling instead.

Daniel immediately raced to her side.

"Betty, are you okay? You can't just go running off like that – you have to be careful," he scolded and tried to help her up.

Betty swatted his hands away.

"I can get up myself, Daniel," she snapped. "Besides, you've made it pretty clear that you don't want to be near me at all."

"Betty, I think you're blowing this way out of proportion. I -" Daniel started to explain.

"'Way out of proportion'?! _Daniel!_ " she exclaimed, incredulously.

"Betty," he tried again.

"No – Daniel, it's fine," she claimed, her voice cracking. She struggled to hold back the flood of tears pooling in her eyes. "I'm obviously not sexy to you . . . and that's okay. I'm not your wife – not the one you married, anyway. I'm trying, and I thought I might actually . . . Never mind, I guess it isn't enough anymore. And to add to that, because I just had a baby, I'm fat, flabby, and sore in certain areas – it's all a total turn off. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to go find a skinny model to satisfy your needs. It's not like I can remember our marriage, anyway."

"Betty, what are you talking about?! I love you!" he assured her.

"You may love me, Daniel. But you're not attracted to me," she stated.

" _What?!_ Of course I am!" Daniel insisted. "I want this, Betty. I want you – _all of you._ _Believe me,_ I do. You are the most gorgeous woman I've ever seen or been with. I am _always_ turned on by you. Maybe even more, now, seeing you be the mother of our child. But you've got five more weeks to heal first. We need to slow down, that's all."

Betty sighed, lowering her head in shame. She was both relieved and humiliated. At least Daniel still found her attractive. But when she'd finally let herself live in the moment, she'd also forgotten about the physical barriers that were currently between them. She wondered if actually knowing how it was to be with Daniel would help things any? Then again, if it was as good as the short preview she'd experienced, knowing might make the waiting even worse . . .

"Hey . . . Are we good?" he asked, lifting her chin and pushing her hair back from her face.

Betty nodded.

"Yeah, we're good," she answered, still embarrassed.

He lovingly kissed her forehead, allowing his lips to linger before sliding his head down to meet hers and kissing her soundly on the mouth.

"Good . . . We should probably talk more about starting our own magazine, if that's what you really want to do," he said, helping her back over to the bed. "Oh. And not that I mind staring at your nipples – I could do it all day, actually – but I can't concentrate on anything productive that way."

Puzzled by his comment, Betty looked down to find two wet circles on her t-shirt.

"Oh my god – I'm leaking!" she exclaimed, mortified.

"Baby, it's okay. I'll get you another shirt," he said, amused.

"You know, you wouldn't think it was so funny if _you_ were leaking in an inappropriate place," she countered, changing her top.

Daniel was too busy staring at her breasts while she discarded her stained shirt to pay attention.

"Mmmhmm . . ." he mumbled.

"You're a pretty big distraction yourself, you know," she argued, playfully poking his chest.

Daniel grinned and reluctantly put his shirt back on.

"So . . . are we really going to do this – start a magazine together? We don't have to . . ." he said, giving her an out.

" _No!_ I mean, _yes!_ I mean – I _do_ want to," Betty assured him. "But where? And how? Do we even have the money for it?"

"We can start one wherever you want – London, Paris, Rome –" he offered.

"Here? C-Could we start one here?" she timidly asked.

"You want to move back to New York?" he asked, surprised.

"Only if you want to. You've already moved once for me. I can't ask you to do that again if it's not what you really want," she assured him.

"No, it is. Being back here this past month has made me miss it. London's great and all, but New York truly feels like home," Daniel told her.

"I know . . . And most of our family is here . . . Scarlett will get to grow up with her cousins and have her grandparents and aunts and uncles around . . . Alexis, DJ, and Christina are still only a plane ride away," Betty reasoned.

"Let's do it. You're still on maternity leave for another five weeks, and I no longer have a magazine to check in with. Let's just make a clean break," he agreed, holding up his hand for a high-five.

"Deal," she slapped his hand, intertwining her fingers through his and bringing their hands down. "So if we're moving back here, were you thinking maybe we should start the magazine at Meade?"

"It makes sense, doesn't it? I own part of the company and Mom mentioned that there's still an open space of offices from where MYW used to be. We can re-design everything in there and make it our own," Daniel suggested.

"It sounds perfect . . . And we can both be EICs, like you and Wilhelmina – you can focus more on the photoshoots and ad sales, and I'll deal more with the business contracts and overall feel. We can lean on each other for anything in between," she continued to think out loud.

"And I know we'll get along much better," he added with a wicked grin.

Betty giggled.

"After four years of working together, we'd better," she joked.

"We've always made a great team, you and me," he smiled. "And not just at work either."

"Yeah," she agreed, rubbing her thumb along his hand and looking into his eyes. "I'm sorry I freaked out on you earlier. This all is beginning to feel pretty perfect and I was afraid of losing it – of losing you . . . Daniel, I -"

A knock at the door from Claire and an unhappy baby interrupted them.


	18. Chapter 18

_Thank you all again for reading and/or reviewing this story - it's much appreciated! :)_

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"Betty, I do hope you two are somewhat decent, because I'm coming in," Claire announced. "I've seen my son's bare behind too many times to count, but I wouldn't want _you_ to feel uncomfortable, dear."

"We're fully clothed, Mrs. Meade. It's not a problem," Betty assured her, stifling a giggle by burying her head in Daniel's chest.

"Please call me Claire, sweetheart. I'm your mother-in-law and your friend, not a complete stranger - at least I _hope_ I'm not," she worried, handing a crying Scarlett over to Betty.

"No! No. I'm sorry, Claire. I forgot. I'm still not used to all of this yet. I'm getting there, though," she smiled back at Daniel and tried to calm their daughter down.

Daniel gazed at her lovingly.

"Good. I'm glad to hear that," Claire replied, genuinely happy. "I think my granddaughter might be hungry. I've exhausted every other possibility. Plus, your t-shirt is becoming damp."

" _Oh my god, again?_ I just changed!" Betty groaned, looking down at her top. "I think I need some of those nursing pads and bras. And some new clothes . . . All my post baby stuff is probably back in London."

"Would you like me to get some for you, dear?" Claire offered.

"No, that's too much trouble," Betty told her.

"It's no trouble at all, Betty. I insist," Claire told her. "In fact, I happened to see a maternity store just a block or so from here. I can take all you girls with me. I'm sure they could use a few things from there, too."

"Thank you, Claire, but I'm not sure Amanda and I are going to be able to go there without the town car or a huge cab and Daniel needs to pick up dinner," Betty pointed out.

"Oh, right. Well that won't be a problem. I will simply call the owner and have them bring the store to you," Claire suggested.

"You don't have to do that," Betty objected. "That's way too much -"

"Nothing is too much for my family, Betty. And you girls are part of my family," Claire smiled.

"Thank you," Betty smiled, shyly. "I'd hug you if I didn't have a baby in my arms."

Claire smiled.

"That's really sweet of you, Mom. Thank you!" Daniel hugged her for Betty.

"What time is it?" Betty asked.

"It's 5:30pm," Daniel glanced at his watch. He handed her the feeding tent and held Scarlett for her, who began to get extremely fussy again. "I guess I need to pick up dinner while you take care of Scarlett's and do some shopping. What do you feel like?"

"What do _you_ feel like?" she asked, carefully maneuvering her shirt up underneath the tent and taking Scarlett. "You probably haven't had the spaghetti and meatballs from Michael's in a while?"

"Betty, I can get that any time," he replied.

"If you want it, get it. That actually sounds good, right now," Betty insisted. "What do you think, Claire?"

"I think I might have a craving for his chicken scaloppini," she agreed. "I haven't had that since my 25th anniversary with Bradford. On our first anniversary, I attempted to fix it for Bradford myself. That's when we began having our special meals at Michael's, instead."

Betty and Daniel laughed.

"The last time I tried to fix spaghetti for Daniel, I burned the whole pan of it and almost set our apartment on fire," she laughed, then stopped when she realized that that had happened recently. " _Oh my god!_ Daniel, that was in London!"

"Yeah, it was, B! That's amazing!" he kissed her fervently.

"That's wonderful, dear!" Claire told her.

"I'll go get everyone else's orders and call it in on the way," Daniel said, kissing his wife one last time. "Be back soon – don't remember anything else without me!"

Betty smiled at him.

"Be careful, you," she told him. " _Ooooh_ – Daniel? Could you get us some of that cheesy, garlicky bruschetta? You took me there once, and I still get a craving for it sometimes."

"Oh, yeah . . . I love that stuff!" he remembered. "Wait, you remember your last birthday, too?"

"I'm not sure what it was for . . ." Betty said, recalling the night. "You took me to Michael's and we had an amazing meal. Then the town car got a flat tire on the way back. It started pouring down rain and when we ran to take cover across the street, a heel on my new Louboutin peep-toe pumps from Swag Day broke when I got them stuck in the grate from a drain. And when I tried to get them out, I twisted my ankle. You insisted on carrying me until we could get a cab."

"That _was_ your last birthday," Daniel smiled, wistfully. "I wanted to take you to the ER, but you talked me out of it, saying it wasn't that bad. I promised to buy you a new pair of shoes for your birthday present, which you also attempted to talk me out of but failed. I teased you that it was a good thing that it didn't happen before the wedding or you would've been hobbling down the aisle and I would have had to literally sweep you off your feet in order to dance with you."

"I remember that now," Betty smiled. "I thought you were going to kiss me right before the cab came, which freaked me out a little. But it turned out you were just reaching for my glasses to clean them off for me."

"I was going to . . . You were so beautiful with your hair all a mess and your dress completely drenched. But I decided against it," Daniel confessed. "I wasn't sure how you'd react – how _I'd_ react, either. And if it didn't turn out well, then I'd end up ruining your birthday even more."

"How in the world could the two of you have been so damn blind all these years? That sounds like a scene from a movie! But I'm not surprised you didn't kiss that night. Lord knows there would be no successful romantic contact with _that_ meal," Claire brashly, yet in her own lighthearted way, remarked.

" _Mom! Claire!_ " Daniel and Betty both objected.

"I apologize, kids. You two order whatever your hearts desire – it's none of my business," his mother told them.

"No, it's not. But for your information, Betty and I have never have a problem regardless of what we eat," Daniel informed her.

" _Daniel!_ " Betty glared at her husband.

" _What?!_ It's true, isn't it?" he defended.

"Yes, but your _mother_ doesn't have to know that we're so insanely in love with each other that we don't care what we smell or taste like!" she argued, then froze with her mouth open after realizing what she'd just admitted.

Daniel paused for a moment, a grin slowly forming on his face. He gently closed Betty's mouth and kissed it.

"We'll talk later," he assured her and left.

" _Oh god . . ._ What the hell did I just do?" Betty groaned, humiliated.

"It's quite alright, sweetheart. I don't think Daniel minded at all," she smiled.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this – I wasn't supposed to just blurt out to my husband in front of his mother that I'm in love with him," she sighed. "That sentence doesn't sound right, does it?"

"Believe me dear, I've heard far stranger than that," Claire assured her. "Now, it doesn't matter how you said it, if you meant it. And by the way it flowed so easily off of your tongue, I think you did. And that is absolutely wonderful."

Betty timidly smiled.

"Are you happy with my son?" Claire asked. "You can be truthful, Betty. I am well aware of all of his flaws. And I realize what you are going through is very awkward. But you are my daughter, now. I want the best for you, too."

"Thank you. I've always been happy when I'm with Daniel. I never expected to wake up to a life with him as my _husband_ \- but he's made it so easy . . ." she confessed. "I-I don't want to lose him."

"You won't," Claire promised. "Daniel has had feelings for you for a very long time. It took him years before he would admit them to himself and everyone else, but they were there. You have something very special together, Betty. Trust in that."

Betty nodded. Claire's words helped, but she was still unsure and embarrassed.

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Betty had a difficult time sitting through dinner. Self-conscious, she tried to avoid Daniel's gaze the entire meal. Every time she accidentally looked at him she ended up blushing, making her feel way more vulnerable than she wanted to be. It was as if they were on their first date and they hardly knew each other or something.

Daniel, on the other hand, appeared to have no issues with staring at _her_ \- or touching her for that matter. In fact, he wouldn't take his eyes off of her. His hand discreetly rested on or occasionally rubbed her thigh for the majority of the dinner. It was nice – _more_ than nice - but made her apprehensive at the same time.

Fortunately, she could distract herself with all of the questions she and Daniel were getting by the announcement they'd made about moving back.

After dinner, Daniel went to check on Scarlett, who was asleep upstairs. Everyone else had either gone home or was helping clean up.

"She's still fast asleep," Daniel told her as he sat down beside her on the couch and put the baby monitor on the coffee table.

"Good," Betty smiled, awkwardly.

"So you're insanely in love with me, huh?" Daniel whispered in her ear, looking like the cat that swallowed the canary.

"My family's in the next room and they're notorious for eavesdropping. Couldn't we discuss this later?" Betty asked.

"All you have to do is tell me. I don't need a whole article on it . . . although, I did write a six page recommendation for you once that was originally twelve, so . . ." he joked.

" _Daniel . . ._ I already divulged my innermost feelings in front of your mother. Are you really gonna make me say it again?" she sighed, leaning against the opposite end of the couch, curling her feet up on the cushion.

"Did you mean it?" he asked, seriously.

"Yes, of course I meant it," she insisted, throwing a pillow at him in frustration. "I just didn't mean for it to slip out like that."

"Why is it so hard for you to say it, if you do?" he asked.

She hesitated for a moment.

"Because it makes everything real," she confessed.

"And that's a bad thing for you?" he asked, confused.

"Yes! No! _Maybe . . ._ " she wavered.

"Betty, you should know by now that you have nothing to be afraid of when it comes to us. You can trust me," Daniel promised.

"I do - more than anyone," Betty told him. "You're my best friend. I know you'd never hurt me on purpose. I know you've changed. I just keep thinking about how you dated Trista after all the progress you'd made in your relationships . . . What if you started moving backward again? What if you get tired of me? What if I say those words and get so caught up in being with you and living this amazing life? What if one day you wake up and realize I'm not the one you want to wake up to anymore?"

"Hey . . . c'mere," Daniel gently pulled her onto his lap. "Baby, that will _never_ happen. I swear. Honestly, I don't even know why I was with Trista in the first place. Why is this such a big problem for you now? We're _married_ – I think that speaks volumes for how committed I am to you."

"Great, so I'm your straightjacket," she joked.

" _Betty,_ " he warned.

"Sorry," she apologized.

"Look, marriage to my parents meant having affairs, and murdering mistresses because they literally drove them insane, having secret bastard children, and eventually getting divorced only to realize how much they still loved each other when it was too late to start over," Daniel began. "I don't want that for us. To me, marriage means being with one person forever. Not because you have to, not because it's the right thing to do, but because you love that one person more than anyone else in the world. _You_ are that one person for me, Betty."

" _Daniel . . ._ " Betty smiled shyly and snuggled closer to him, putting her arms around his neck. "You're my one person, too. I-I love you."

"I love you too, B," he captured her lips in a passionate kiss. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

"I guess not . . ." she unwillingly admitted. It was true; it wasn't as hard as she'd made it out to be. In fact, she felt as if a weight had been lifted now that they had talked about it.

"Wow, two times in -" Daniel began.

Betty stopped him with another kiss that left him breathless.

"Why'd you do that?" he wondered.

"I was saving you from saying something you'd regret," she flirted.

"Really?" he questioned, a sexy look in his blue eyes. "Do you think I'm out of trouble yet?"

"Not yet," she gave him a devious grin, pulling his head down for another kiss.

"I'm an idiot," Betty confessed.

"I thought that was my line," Daniel joked. "You never fail to call me a dumbass when I'm being one."

"Daniel, I'm serious," she sighed.

"So am I. But _why_ are you an idiot, again?" he asked.

"A part of me fought being in love with you," Betty answered. "All because of stupid reasons . . . and it's not just you and your past – it's mine, too. After all the other failed relationships I've had, I thought that I couldn't possibly be lucky enough to have a guy as wonderful as you and have it last."

"You _are_ an idiot," Daniel told her.

" _Daniel!_ " she protested, shocked that he would say something like that to her. Then she noticed the corners of his mouth twitching. She reached up her hand to shove his chest when he caught it.

"B, I'm kidding!" he assured her, kissing it. "You're not an idiot . . . you just worry too much. It's cute."

"It's _practical_ , Daniel," Betty disagreed, begrudgingly taking her hand back. "You don't worry enough."

"Then we can make a deal – you can worry enough for the both of us," he suggested. "And when we're old and gray, I promise I'll still come visit you at the home for mental patients."

"Daniel, that's not funny – or rational," she argued, fighting a smile.

"Who says we have to be rational?" Daniel countered, teasing her bottom lip, then her top, running his fingers through her long dark brown hair.

"Mmm . . . You've got a point . . . A very good point . . . To hell with being rational . . ." Betty agreed in between kisses. "I guess I can try . . . mmmm . . . to stop worrying so much . . ."

" _That's_ my Butterfly Queen!" he fervently captured her lips again, then her cheeks and neck, and back to her lips.

" _Daniel . . ._ " Betty giggled. "My family's right there in the next room."

"So? It's not like we're teenagers. We're married . . . _Very. Happily. Married,_ " he replied, slowly running his hand along her arm and down her thigh.

"Very," she agreed, toying with his collar as she teased his bottom lip.

"Okay, okay, you two. This isn't a frat party - enough makin' out on the couch! Bobby and I thought we could all watch a movie as a _family_. So keep the PDA PG!" Hilda warned, then suddenly hugged them tight. " _Aaayyyy . . ._ I'm so happy you guys are in love again and are movin' back here!"

"Wait – Hilda, how did you know? I didn't tell you about what I said?" Betty asked.

"Who else?" Daniel guessed, looking at Betty.

"Claire told me! It took everything in me not to say anythin' at dinner, but once I saw you guys makin' out I thought it was safe," she explained.

"Sweetie, will you stop buggin' Dan and Chipmunk over there, and come help me and Justin eat this popcorn, already?" Bobby called his wife over to the other side of the room and handed her a bowl of popcorn to give to Daniel and Betty.

Daniel propped his feet up on the coffee table and relaxed with Betty in his arms.

"I don't know how you can still be hungry after all that pasta, Mom," Justin shook his head in disbelief.

"Yeah, well, _you_ try bein' almost nine months pregnant, then," Hilda countered and shoved Daniel's feet off of the coffee table. "Get those things off of there, Mister! Papi just cleaned that this morning. _Ay_ , with the upbringin' you had you'd think you'd have some freakin' manners!"

"Sorry," Daniel shrugged, looking at Betty. "Hormones?"

Betty gave him a look.

"I heard that!" Hilda teasingly smacked her brother-in-law on the back of his head.

"Ow!" Daniel, complained, rubbing it. " _Damn_ , Hilda! I thought _Betty_ hit hard . . ."

Betty smirked.

"That'll teach ya not to mess with the Suarez Sisters!" Hilda lightheartedly warned him.

" _Aww, my poor baby . . ._ " Betty mocked in fun. "Want me to kiss it and make it better?"

"Go away," he pouted.

Betty giggled.

Daniel put his feet up on the couch instead, causing them both to reposition themselves a little. They stared at each other and got lost in their own little world for a while, waiting for everyone to get situated.

"You're adorable," Betty told him, tweaking his nose. She reached for his left hand and took a really good look at the ring on his finger. She twirled it around.

"This is nice, I like it," she smiled, studying the wide white gold band.

"You should, you picked it out," he told her.

"See, you can't argue about my sense of style anymore, can you?" she teased.

"Who said _I_ liked it?" he argued.

"Daniel, I know you. You wouldn't agree to wear a ring for the rest of your life that you hated," she countered. "You'd be whining about it every day – just like your desk at MODE."

"What desk at MODE?" he asked, puzzled.

"The desk you couldn't hide under when you were trying to avoid me or your mother," she clarified.

"Oh. _That_ desk," he remembered.

"Yes. _That_ desk," she said. "And I wouldn't agree to it either, because _I'd_ be the one to have to listen to you."

"Am I really that bad?" he asked, insecurely.

"Yes," she answered matter-of-factly. "Now tell me more about our engagement."

Daniel started to, but the noise level in the room got too loud.

" _Mom_ , I'm going to have to _walk_ to MODE tomorrow to burn off all these carbs. And sweat is not a good look for a first day as an intern for Wilhelmina Slater," Justin complained, arguing with Hilda.

"Then _why_ did you eat so much?!" his mother countered. "Está loco en la cabeza?!"

"Hilda, be nice! If Justin was hungry, then he was hungry. He's still a growing boy," Ignacio intervened.

"Wilhelmina's got you coming in on a _Sunday_?" Betty overheard and turned to face Justin, asking in disbelief.

"I'm supposed to reorganize the Closet before Swag Day," her nephew explained. "She's letting me have first pick – _me!_ "

"Wow! Justin that's great!" Betty exclaimed.

"Are yeh kiddin' me? That's bloody fantastic! Has the Vampire Lady lost her brains?" Christina asked, coming into the room with bowl of tortilla chips and some queso. "She must really be smitten with you, love. She never let me have anythin' at all 'til everyone else got their pick. I had to hide certain pieces in order to have a chance at 'em."

"Willie's really changed, I guess. Justin, I'd stay away from the shoes – most of them will kill your feet," Daniel advised.

"Thanks, UD, but I'll take anything I can get my hands on and wear it with pride. Fashion always trumps pain," he told him.

Daniel smiled and rolled his eyes at his nephew.

"The lad's got a point, unfortunately," Christina agreed.

"Well, I think it's great that Justin gets to work with Miss Slater! She's quite a remarkable woman. I don't know how she does it all . . ." Ignacio commented, in awe.

" _This_ comin' from the man who can't tell the real lady from the drag queen," Hilda teased.

"Hey, she/he could have been Wilhelmina's twin!" Ignacio argued.

"Don't worry, Papi. She managed to fool Daniel, too," Betty added.

"You _knew_ about that?" Daniel asked.

"I have my sources," Betty smiled devilishly. "So what movie are we watching?"

" _I_ think we should watch 'Grease' – our school's going to put on a Junior/Senior production of it this fall and I need to study my lines," Justin suggested.

" _Eeeeeee!_ Justin, did you guys already get parts?!" Betty assumed, excited.

"No, but Austin and I are totally meant to play Kenickie and Danny!" he exclaimed.

Betty nodded.

"Any objections to my baby boy preparing for his big musical debut?" Hilda asked.

" _Mom!_ " Justin complained. "Stop calling me a baby. _Ulcchhh . . ._ I can't wait until my new sister gets here – the _real_ baby! Maybe then you'll be able to tell the difference."

"'Grease' it is!" Bobby declared, ignoring the bickering.

"What is this 'Grease' anyway?" Ignacio asked. "Are they working at a fast food restaurant?"

"Just watch and you'll find out, Grandpa," Justin told him. "Hey, Uncle D? Were you ever in a musical in high school?"

"Actually, yeah - once. I played one of the extras in 'Cinderella'," he revealed.

"You never told me that!" Betty threw popcorn at him.

"It wasn't a big deal – I sang one song with a bunch of other kids," he brushed it off.

"Does your mom have the tape?" she asked, hopefully.

"It got destroyed in a flood," Daniel claimed.

"Liar," she playfully accused, throwing more popcorn.

"Hypocrite," he teased, throwing it back.

"How?!" she demanded to know.

"You were in a dance recital when you were five – why haven't I seen _that_ tape?" Daniel countered.

"Because it's in some random box in Papi's attic with a bunch of my old stuff," she excused, assuming that's where it was.

"No it's not – it's in that shelf over there with my talent show tape," Hilda corrected her.

" _Hilda!_ " Betty exclaimed, feeling betrayed.

" _What?!_ He wanted to know . . ." she excused.

"That didn't mean you had to help him find it!" Betty argued.

" _I knew it!_ _You_ don't want me to see _your_ tape either," Daniel smirked.

"You're right, I don't. We're even," she agreed. "Can we watch the movie now?"

"You got it, Chipmunk," Bobby said. "By the way, you looked _so cute_ in that little dance . . . with your little tutu and that tiara."

" _Oohhhh . . ._ I can picture it now, Lil' Betty in a frilly pink tutu doin' her little plies!" Christina imagined.

" _Hilda!_ You showed him?!" Betty yelled, shocked.

"Hey – don't get all bitchy with me, Mamita! It was all Papi's fault!" Hilda informed her.

" _Papi!_ " Betty exclaimed.

"I-I thought I was showing Bobby Hilda's tape, but they were mislabeled. Mea culpa, Mija. Lo siento!" her father apologized.

"It's okay, Papi. Let's just watch the movie," she said.

"Yes, _please_ , for the love of Olivia Newton-John can we _finally_ watch the movie?! I'm sorry I brought the whole thing up!" Justin exclaimed, frustrated at the scene he caused.

"Oh, don't get yer knickers in a bunch, love! We'll get to it!" Christina calmed Justin down.

"It's playin'. It's playin'!" Bobby huffed. " _Jesus!_ Man, I swear sometimes Dan and I are the only sane people in this freakin' family . . ."

Hilda lightly smacked him.

Daniel snorted.

" _Daniel!_ " Betty scolded with a similar smack to his chest.

" _Guys!_ It's starting!" Justin tried to shut them all up.

"Sorry, baby," Daniel pressed his lips to Betty's temple.

"It's okay," she whispered and began weaving her fingers in and out of his hand. "I still love you."

"And I love hearing you say it," Daniel affectionately kissed her lips and they settled in for the movie.


	19. Chapter 19

_Thank you again for reading and/or reviewing - I really appreciate it! :) If you haven't already, please go on Twitter and tweet #HuluBringBackUglyBetty - the entire cast was on board for doing a 2-hour movie on Hulu when asked at the ATX Festival last night. They need the fans to help make it happen. Thanks! :)_

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Six weeks later, a lot of progress had been made. Daniel and Betty had found a spacious three-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. It wasn't nearly as large as his mother's, but it had plenty of space for the three of them. All of their belongings had been packed and shipped back to New York. Alexis and DJ were kind enough to come to their apartment in London and supervise a set of movers.

Their new magazine, Focus, was coming along as well. It was a combination of style for real women and men, pop culture, and meaningful topics. The construction on the offices had finished a week ago. It had a hidden room between Daniel's and Betty's offices for Scarlett, and a separate hallway connecting all three rooms. That way, either one of them could look in on Scarlett during the day. A nanny would be watching her when they weren't able to. This set up also allowed them to easily come and go into each other's offices without disturbing Scarlett if she were asleep.

Daniel and Betty were currently in the process of interviewing candidates for staff positions.

"What did you think of Madelyn?" Betty asked, handing Daniel her application.

"She choked on her interview! Do you honestly think she could handle herself in the workplace?" Daniel skeptically questioned.

"A lot of people 'choke' on their interviews, Daniel. They can be very intimidating even with the best of interviewers. Not that I'm expecting _you_ to know anything about that . . ." she remarked with a patronizing kiss and pat on his cheek as she got up to throw away their coffee cups.

"Hey, that's not fair! I can't help that I didn't have to interview with anyone until a year ago," he defended. "But I'll admit _that_ wasn't much of an interview either. Lindsay basically asked me when I wanted to start and we spent the rest of the time watching the game and drinking beer with our burgers and fries."

"You went to a place that served burgers and fries for your interview?" Betty asked in disbelief.

"Lindsay wanted an American to have a taste of home," Daniel explained. "Plus, his wife had him on a strict diet and it was an excuse for him to cheat a little."

"Oookkaaay . . ." she raised her eyebrows and made a face. "Now, as I was saying, Madelyn's resume is incredible! She spent five years as Anna Wintour's assistant. _And_ she graduated from Yale with a degree in journalism."

"She spent all those years at a fashion magazine. What makes you think she has any knowledge of world views, politics - all that crap you insisted we incorporate into our content?" Daniel questioned.

"Just because you're not that interested in it doesn't make it crap, Daniel. I once worked for a strictly fashion-based magazine. And as you recall, fashion wasn't exactly my passion _or_ my expertise," Betty replied, sitting next to him on her comfy yet stylish new office couch. "So maybe Madelyn was in the same position I was in. She needed a job in journalism and even though fashion wasn't her first choice, she stuck with it because she needed an in. And even if that's not the reason, we still need someone as our Fashion Editor, right? What better candidate do we have?"

"You've got a point," he agreed. "So how many positions do we have left to fill now?"

"Six – CFO, Senior & Associate Features, Senior and Associate Fashion, and Reception," she looked at the list.

"Can we stop for a while? My head is spinning from all the resumes and interview notes," Daniel groaned.

"Yeah, why don't you work some more on your office? I think I saw Brandon carry in a few boxes of supplies and you can set up your new laptop," she suggested, rubbing his back.

"I'm getting kinda hungry – you wanna go get some sandwiches?" he suggested.

"Sure! I'm going to go to MODE and see if Marc wants to have lunch with us," Betty agreed. "But we have to get back in time for Scarlett's 1:00pm feeding."

"Okay, I'll meet you there in fifteen," he agreed as she kissed him 'goodbye'.

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" _Chunky Monkey!_ " Marc exclaimed seeing Betty come out of the elevator. "Bienvenidos! Now, Adios!"

"Marc, what's going on?" Betty questioned.

"Cray-cray designer! Bright colors will blind him! Observe the whole monochromatic theme? Go back to your rainbow, Toto!" he explained shoving her back to the elevator, forgetting that the doors had closed.

" _Ooooowww!_ " Betty shouted as her head slammed against the metal door, and she slid down to the floor, unconscious.

" _Chimichanga!_ Bonita! Chiquita! Don't die on me – I can't go to jail! _Orange will never be the new black and they'll eat me alive!_ " Marc panicked, shaking her.

"What in the hell is going here!" Wilhelmina yelled as the elevator doors opened again. " _Marc!_ Get this hot pink and yellow blob out of here before GG finds her! We need him for our September issue."

"I think . . . I killed . . . Betty!" Marc breathlessly explained, pulling out his inhaler.

Recognizing the face, Wilhelmina bent down and took her pulse.

"Oh, stop hyperventilating! She's fine. Just drag her into the elevator and find Daniel. GG will be here any minute and I can't have her loud colors and peppy attitude destroying his mood," she instructed.

Marc did as instructed, muttering the entire time about having to do all the heavy work himself.

"Daniel!" he exclaimed in a panic.

"Marc! What the hell happened?!" Daniel asked, immediately rushing to Betty's side.

"If I tell you, there's a very big chance you'll hurt me!" he whined.

" _Marc!_ " Daniel warned. "If you don't tell me I _will_ hurt you – _speak!_ "

"I-I was trying to get Rainbow Brite out of MODE before she caused a big deal with a designer to die. But you know how clumsy she is – she bumped her head on the elevator doors and passed out," he explained.

"Daniel? . . . Marc?" Betty spoke, still a little dizzy.

"Betty? Are you okay? Don't try get up, baby. Just stay there for a few minutes. Marc, get her some water," Daniel said.

" _Chimichanga!_ You're alive!" Marc hugged Betty. "I'll be right back!"

"Daniel? Where are we?" she asked, confused.

"We're at Focus, our new magazine," he answered.

"In London?" she assumed.

"No, in New York," Daniel corrected her.

"New York . . . Right. We left London because of Millicent and the downsizing at Dunne . . ." she struggled to get her thoughts together.

"Right. Why do you look so sad?" he asked.

"I was just thinking about our flat where you told me you loved me. We had our first kiss there – although the second was much better . . . and we made love . . . and you proposed – twice. Scarlett didn't even get to use her room there," she recalled.

"Betty, you remember all of that?" he asked, hopefully.

"Yeah, I do. I remember how we danced at Hilda's wedding and how upset I was when you wouldn't talk to me when you found out I was leaving . . . I remember how nervous I was before our wedding. I kept having Marc go check and see if you were still there and hadn't run out on me. He finally had you talk to me through the dressing room door for proof . . . We argued over baby names and finally narrowed it down to three each after months of debate . . . Before I left for New York, you made sure I took an Ipod with songs you sang for the baby . . . I-I think I might have my memory back!" she squealed, in her exuberant way.

"Baby, that's amazing!" Daniel exclaimed, pulling her in for a breathtaking kiss and holding her close.

"What? What'd I miss?" Marc asked, coming back with a bottle of water and an ice pack.

"I have my memory back! I never thought I'd be thanking you for slamming me against an elevator, but _thank you, thank you, thank you!_ " she pulled him down by his tie, hugged him tighter than ever, and gave him a big wet kiss on the cheek.

" _Ulchhh . . ._ and seeing as you owe me, _never_ kiss me again!" Marc insisted, wiping his cheek and helping her up with the assistance of Daniel.

"Sorry," Betty apologized.

" _You_ slammed her against the elevator?!" Daniel asked, angrily.

"I fixed her, didn't I? _You're welcome!_ " Marc scoffed.

Daniel grumbled and tried to refrain from hurting him.

"Now that we've established boundaries again . . . _Oh my god I'm so happy!_ " Marc started jumping up and down with Betty.

"Careful, guys! Don't bounce so much that she loses it again," Daniel cautioned, worried. "Why don't we go to lunch and celebrate?"

"Great! I'm starving – and that's why I was coming to see you in the first place," Betty agreed, explaining to Marc as they all headed back into the elevator. "Oh, wait! I forgot my phone – I'll be right back!"

"Betty, are you sure you're able to walk without help. You were pretty shaky just a few minutes ago?" Daniel asked.

"Daniel, I appreciate your chivalrous gesture, but I think I can manage to walk a few feet without my Dark Knight," she smiled, cupping his face and kissing him sweetly.

"Hey, your memory _is_ back. You haven't called me that since before . . ." he trailed off.

"The crash. I know . . . It feels amazing to have it all back!" Betty smiled, cheerfully.

"It's amazing to have all of _you_ back," Daniel grinned, teasing her bottom lip.

Betty reciprocated, deepening the kiss as they got lost in the moment.

"Ahem! _Hello!_ If you two want to keep doing that disgusting thing you're doing, then I'll skip lunch and eat those stale saltines that are in my desk drawer. At least it'll settle my stomach after witnessing _that!_ " he gestured around them, revolted. "And I thought you had to get your phone?"

"Right. Sorry, Marc. We'll keep the PDA to a minimum," Betty apologized.

"Yeah, sorry," Daniel said.

"Okay! I'll be back. Wait! It's too late to eat out. You guys pick up the food and we'll eat it here. I need to feed Scarlett," Betty said and left for her office.

Meanwhile, a message had been left on her voicemail:

"Hi, Betty. . . I-It's Henry. We haven't talked in a long time . . . one year, one month, two weeks, and five days to be exact . . . I-It's just something I know – I wasn't counting the whole time - I just remembered the date and . . . Anyway, I heard you were starting a new magazine here. I was hoping we could have lunch tomorrow and catch up. I-I need to ask you something. Give me a call – thanks!"


	20. Chapter 20

Thanks again for reading and/or reviewing! Please remember to keep Tweeting #HuluBringBackUglyBetty on Twitter! Thanks! :)

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Daniel was at a lunch meeting with a potential staff photographer and Betty was starving when she noticed Henry's voicemail the next day. It'd be fun to catch up with her friend, she thought. She wondered why he had sounded so nervous on the phone, though. Hopefully it wasn't anything serious.

"Henry! It's so good to see you!" Betty greeted her ex with a hug as she met him at a new Japanese steakhouse.

"You, too!" he said.

"So how have you been? I bet Nate's getting really big, now," she assumed, sitting down.

"He is. He's almost five," Henry answered, showing her a picture. "Charlie and I can't believe it."

"This is Scarlett," Betty said, pulling out a picture from her bag. "She's a little over two months."

"She looks just like you," he smiled.

"She has Daniel's blue eyes . . . and his nose," she smiled.

"Daniel. Right. I heard you got married to him – in Paris. Did you know that the top of the Eiffel Tour is six inches shorter in winter? I-It's just something I know," he replied.

"Wow, I didn't know that," Betty smiled. Henry was always full of interesting facts. "I notice you've got a ring on your finger. Did you and Charlie get married?"

"Oh, no. No, we're just friends. She's actually married to someone else. Walter Limpinsky. I think you dated him at one time," he answered.

"Oh my god! _Walter?!_ I thought he moved to Maryland to manage a ProBuy there? Wow. Well that's great that they found each other," she commented.

"Small world," Henry remarked. "Yeah, I guess he moved back not too long before Charlie met him. He manages the one downtown now."

Betty shook her head in disbelief. Walter with _Charlie?_ She wished him luck with her neurotic, insanely possessive behavior. Although, she figured anyone could have changed by now.

"So you never told me who _you_ married?" Betty questioned, curiously.

"Her name is Stacy Diaz. She works as a paralegal at my firm – well, technically my former firm. That's actually why I wanted to talk to you," Henry admitted.

"Oh, no. Did something happen?" she asked, concerned.

"Um. Yes. Y-Yes something did," he nervously stuttered. "I-I got laid off due to financial issues within the firm."

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" she told him. "But why?"

"I had a disagreement with the way that they wanted me to handle their books. It turns out that past CFOs would illegally write certain things off and transfer money to different accounts and juggle the numbers in order to avoid paying more during tax season. I wasn't willing to do that. So they fired me," he explained.

"Oh, Henry. That's terrible!" she exclaimed. "Have you tried to do something about it? Like talking to a lawyer with another firm?"

"No. They gave me a very nice severance package. It's been enough for now, but I could really use a new job. Stacy's been looking for another one, too, considering what happened. But she can't afford to quit until she does. Charlie and I would really like to transfer Nate to a private school next year. The kids at the public preschool have been bullying him," he responded. "T-That's why I called you. I saw you were still looking for a CFO for your new magazine. I-I was wondering if you would consider letting me interview for it?"

"Of course! You were a great accountant for MODE! I'd have to talk it over with Daniel first, but as far as I'm concerned you've got the job!" Betty told him.

"Great! Daniel . . . Something tells me I won't get the job," he commented, disappointedly.

"Henry, relax. Don't worry about Daniel. That's all in the past. I'm sure he'll be fine with it," she assured him.

"He doesn't like me very much, does he?" Henry cringed.

"He likes you a lot from a professional standpoint," Betty replied, carefully.

"I think I need to keep applying to some other positions just in case," Henry commented.

"Well, I will let you know. And I'm sure it won't be a problem," she told him cheerfully. "So what's good on the menu? I've never been to this restaurant before."

"I've heard their sushi is pretty good," he joked.

Betty giggled, remembering their sort-of first date. It was nice hanging out with Henry now that things weren't awkward between them. No tension or residual romantic feelings – just friends.

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Daniel got off the elevator, returning from his meeting with the photographer. He was burning up. He never understood why men were forced to wear suits to meetings in warm weather. He stopped outside the doors to take off his jacket and ended up elbowing someone.

" _Oww!_ " they exclaimed.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there!" he apologized, picking up his glasses for him.

"T-That's okay. I might need some ice, but I'll be fine," the man said, looking up at Daniel, covering his wounded eye.

"Henry?!" Daniel exclaimed, trying to hold back his hatred for the man. "What brings you here?"

"B-Betty left her sunglasses at the restaurant. I was just returning them," he handed Daniel Betty's Michael Kors aviator shades.

"Thanks – I'll see that she gets them," he begrudgingly took them. "Let me get you some ice. I think Betty has some in her office."

"Great," Henry replied nervously as they walked down the hallway to Betty's office.

"Hey, baby. Guess who I ran into," Daniel announced as he and Henry entered her office, clearly upset with his wife.

"Daniel, how could you?!" Betty exclaimed, noticing Henry's eye.

"It was an accident – unlike you not telling me that you had lunch with him!" Daniel defended.

"It really was an accident, Betty," Henry agreed.

"Only maybe it shouldn't have been an accident, seeing how you're sneaking around with him behind my back. Did you sleep with him?!" Daniel angrily accused.

"Daniel! How could you possibly think that -" Betty responded.

Henry socked him in the eye before she could finish and the two men started a full-blown fight. Betty rushed over to break them up and unintentionally ended up getting punched in the eye herself.

" _Owww! Damn it!_ " she exclaimed.

"Baby, are you okay?" Daniel asked.

"Betty?" Henry said, concerned.

"Get the hell away from me - both of you! I'm taking Scarlett and I'm going to Papi's," she pushed both men away from her. "Daniel, let me know when you're ready to stop acting like a freakin' five-year-old!"

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In retrospect, Daniel realized the last thing he should have done was accuse his wife of cheating on him. He knew one of Betty's biggest pet peeves was his impulsiveness – never waiting to think things through or obtain all of the facts before he reacted. But what was he supposed to think when he found out from that little bastard that he'd had lunch with her? Henry was her ex-boyfriend, her first love. What was there to say that they wouldn't still have feelings for each other?

It took Betty a long time to get over that guy – an entire burial service with so many mementos he'd fallen asleep halfway through it. What did she see in him? Henry had broken her heart so many times and yet every time he showed up she'd come running back to him. Daniel had thought they'd gotten past all of that and moved on. But maybe that was just his wishful thinking. Maybe Henry really was the one true love of Betty's life and he was just lucky enough to have been with her for as little time as he had.

He went home to an empty apartment. It was so quiet you could only hear the occasional siren down the street. Betty's suitcase and half her clothes were gone. So were a lot of Scarlett's things. That's when he knew he was in deep shit. But why the hell should he be blamed when Betty was the one who didn't tell him about seeing Henry? Didn't he have a right to be pissed? A right to feel hurt and betrayed? She was his wife – not some random girl he occasionally screwed. He loved her with every fiber of his being. She was his everything. After almost losing her twice with the accident and the birth of their child, and then dealing with her amnesia, he thought they'd gotten through enough drama for a lifetime. Could regaining her memory have triggered her past feelings for Henry? She didn't say anything to him the past day about it. She was happy with him, back to the way things had been before the crash.

He changed into his sweats and took off his watch. As he laid it down on his night stand, he noticed Betty's blue butterfly earrings. He stared at them for a while. It was a reminder of how great things had been.

 _It had been their first Thanksgiving dinner together as a married couple. Everyone from Betty's family and his had gathered around his mother's dining room table. They had all helped her dad fix the meal – well, tried to anyway. Betty and Amanda had dropped egg shells into the cornbread stuffing batter, Alexis and DJ ended up accidentally putting salt instead of sugar in the cranberry sauce, and the second Justin got flour from the pie crust on his designer shirt he ran to salvage it. Hilda had burned the pumpkin pie, Bobby wouldn't stop eating things before they were done, and he, himself, had managed to drop the raw turkey onto the kitchen floor. Tyler had been the only one not to screw up. Apparently he hadn't inherited the family gene. Eventually, Ignacio threw all of them out of the kitchen except for his mom, Elena, and Tyler. Allowing his mother to stay was more of a courtesy than anything else. She couldn't cook if her life depended on it, but Ignacio insisted she give her chef the day off and let him make the meal._

 _They were all a family – a real family. It felt good to have that for once. Sure, there were disagreements and nobody was perfect, but no one rejected you for not living up to their expectations or got so drunk they knocked over the Christmas tree. His family had changed and grown past that and Betty's family was already a wonderful example of what a true family should be. He was really lucky to have all of them – even Tyler._

 _That night, they all had gone out to the stores for the early Black Friday madness. His family of course had never needed to spend their time waiting in the cold in a long line for half-priced electronics, toys, and clothes. So this was a new experience for them. The Suarez's, however, were veterans to the ritual. And Amanda, Tyler, and Elena had been a few times themselves._

 _They'd all split up, with lists for different stores, and would meet at Macy's when they were done. Betty and Daniel had the job of getting items at Target. Tyler, DJ, and Bobby were to go to Best Buy. Ignacio and Elena went to Crate & Barrel. Alexis and Hilda hit Bloomingdale's. Justin met up with Austin and went to Saks Off 5_ _th_ _. And Claire and Amanda got BabiesRUs._

 _"_ _Daniel, I'm cold," Betty whined, bouncing up and down and rubbing her hands together. "I'm beginning to regret giving away my blue puffy coat."_

 _"_ _I told you you should've taken your dad's old coat," Daniel told his pregnant wife._

 _"_ _But it was too big," she explained. "I'm not a house, yet, Daniel – am I?"_

 _"_ _Of course not, B. But it was warmer than the one you've got on," he pointed out, pulling her close to him, trying to warm her up. "Text Alexis and Hilda to look for you a new winter coat while they're at Bloomingdale's."_

 _"_ _When we get inside, you hit Starbucks, and I'll get started on the list. Here's a copy of the map. I'll head for the new Green Day gaming set for DJ and grab anything else I can find along the way. You can just get the coffee and meet me in the section with the video games," Betty instructed. "Justin's going to be so excited! He's been wanting the new dance game ever since it came out."_

 _"_ _You've really got this all planned out, don't you?" he marveled._

 _"_ _Yeah, I've been doing this for years. It's the only way our family was able to afford some really cool items," she explained._

 _"_ _You know we have money, right?" Daniel reminded her._

 _"_ _I know, but that doesn't mean we have to waste it. It's worth it to stand in the cold for a little bit if we can save some," she told him._

 _"_ _Remember that when our baby's a frozen popsicle," he joked._

 _"_ _Daniel . . ." she craned her head up to glare at him._

 _"_ _What?! I feel like I'm holding a bag of ice you're so cold," he argued._

 _"_ _So now I'm a bag?" Betty objected._

 _"_ _Baby, you know what I meant. You're still my beautiful Butterfly Queen," he told her, giving her an upside-down kiss. "You still haven't told me what you want for Christmas?"_

 _"_ _I have everything I want. You . . . our baby . . . spending time with our families . . ." she replied._

 _"_ _Come on, Betty. There has to be something," Daniel insisted._

 _"_ _I do need a new book light for my Kindle," she answered._

 _"_ _Betty, be serious. I'm not just going to get you a book light. You're my wife - not my Great Aunt Edna," he told her._

 _"_ _Well, then start getting creative, because I've racked my brain for something I want this year and I've come up with nothing so far except maternity clothes and stuff for the baby," she said._

 _"_ _All of that's basically for the baby and not you, though," Daniel pointed out._

 _"_ _Oooh! We're moving! We're finally moving! Yay!" Betty squealed, briefly jumping up and down before quickly going ahead in the line and into the store._

 _"_ _Just be careful, Betty. Don't let anyone push you around. I've heard horror stories about stores during Black Friday," Daniel warned as she sped past him to get a cart before they were gone._

 _"_ _I promise. Love you," she called before separating._

 _When Daniel found Betty again, she was in an argument with a woman he vaguely recognized. He stayed back, knowing Betty preferred to fight her own battles._

 _"_ _Give it back, Gina. It was in my cart!" Betty snapped._

 _"_ _You have two of 'em, and I got none. How is that fair?" the woman argued._

 _"_ _It's fair, because I found them first and I'm under the limit per person," Betty explained._

 _"_ _But my kid has been wantin' this for forevah!" Gina shouted._

 _"_ _So has my nephew," Betty countered. "And you don't have a kid."_

 _"_ _I could have a kid . . ." Gina defended herself. "And since when did you have a nephew that was into that stuff? Don't tell me that skanky sista of yours popped another one out?"_

 _"_ _No, my married sister did not have another child who's that old. She's pregnant, now. But I don't think the baby will be playing Wii any time soon. However my nephew by marriage is old enough for it," Betty retorted, tightening her grip on the box._

 _"_ _You got married?" Gina laughed. "Well, ya don't look roadkill anymore so I guess I can believe it. I bet he's rich and paid for your plastic surgery, huh?"_

 _"_ _I'm going to let that slide because I realize anytime you insult me it's to make up for your own insecurities. How's your marriage going, Gina?" Betty smirked._

 _"_ _Ya know what, Suarez, it's people like you that give Christmas a bad name. Now lemmie have one of 'em you selfish little bitch!" Gina yanked the gaming set out of Betty's hands so hard that she lost her balance._

 _"_ _Give it back, Gambaro!" Betty insisted, still tugging at it while she was down on the floor._

 _"_ _Hey! Guys, be careful! Betty, are you okay? Is the baby okay?" Daniel asked, putting the coffee holder down and helping his wife up._

 _"_ _This guy is your husband?! Daniel Meade?!" Gina dropped the box in shock. "Well, now I know how you trapped him, 'cuz having his baby is the only way you'd evah get a guy as sexy as he is. And he must've been totally wasted to screw your ugly ass in the first place."_

 _"_ _You little bitch! No wonder your husband left you!" Betty retorted._

 _Daniel wanted to say something himself, but decided to let it go and get Betty away from this woman before she and/or the baby physically got hurt._

 _"_ _Hey! That's enough – both of you! Now cut it out or we're all getting out of here without anything!" Daniel ordered. "It's Christmas. Now apologize to each other. I'm sure we can work something out."_

 _"_ _Yeah, like you hand it ovah, Betty! What are you guys doin' here anyways? You're freakin' loaded!" Gina snapped._

 _"_ _Some of us respect the value of money and would like to save as much of it as we can," Betty snapped back._

 _"_ _Here take it, and this," Daniel said, handing Gina both gaming sets and $500._

 _"_ _Hey – I am nobody's freakin' charity case!" Gina rejected his offer._

 _"_ _It's a gift. Take it," Daniel insisted. "Merry Christmas."_

 _"_ _Daniel! What the hell are you doing?!" Betty protested as he guided her and the cart away from Gina Gambaro._

 _"_ _Relax, Betty. It's fine," he assured her._

 _"_ _Fine? Fine?! Daniel, you just gave away two of the hottest items this season – one we needed for DJ . . . The other I was getting for you. Not to mention you handed out $500! And to Gina Gambaro of all people!" she complained, furious._

 _"_ _Betty, we don't need it. I already purchased everything for $20 cheaper each online," he explained. "Besides, haven't you always told me that Christmas is about the spirit of giving?"_

 _"_ _Yeah," she reluctantly admitted. "But did it have to be to Gina Gambaro?"_

 _"_ _I know. But look at her – what else does she have in her life, if she's willing to fight that hard for a stupid gaming set?" he reasoned._

 _"_ _I love you," Betty smiled, staring into his eyes, and hugged him tight. "I still hate Gina Gambaro, but I love you."_

 _"_ _I love you, too," Daniel told her and marveled at her determination. "You can really put up a fight when you want to."_

 _"_ _I'm from Queens – it comes with the territory . . . You're going to make an amazing dad, by the way. You're a natural at handling fights," she smiled, searching for dance and singing games for Justin._

 _"_ _Well, Alex and I get into them all the time so I guess I'm expert at them," he joked._

 _"_ _I'm serious, Daniel. I can't wait to see you with our kids," Betty told him._

 _"_ _Kids? As in multiple? Really?" Daniel asked, intrigued._

 _"_ _Yeah, kids. Look, I know that I wasn't exactly thrilled at first with the little surprise we got. I'm not used to big changes like that – I like to plan," she admitted. "But I love you, and I think about you and me and this baby . . . and maybe a little brother or sister someday."_

 _"_ _Betty, that's great," Daniel grinned and kissed her lovingly. "So what else is on the list, 'cause it looks like there's a pretty long line for the checkout?"_

 _"_ _D, that's not the end of the line – that is," she pointed in the correct direction._

 _"_ _Jesus, Betty! Are you sure we need these and all the rest of those items? I bet I can find them online, too," Daniel asked, incredulously looking at the insane line._

 _Betty sighed._

 _"_ _Find them online, and we'll go," she caved, disappointedly._

 _"_ _What? B, what is it?" Daniel asked. "I thought you'd be happy not to be on your feet so much."_

 _"_ _It's nothing . . . just, I wanted you to have this really fun experience with me and everything is screwed up. I got into a fight, and you want to buy all our stuff online and leave . . . Some of the best times I had with my family were here – in stores like these – trying to find the best bargains and spending the time we had waiting in lines talking and playing stupid games we made up," Betty confessed._

 _Daniel took one look at the disappointed look on his wife's face and melted._

 _"_ _Wait here!" he told her and was back within a few minutes with two pillows._

 _"_ _What are those for?" she asked._

 _"_ _You'll see," he said, taking out the items from the cart, placing the pillows in the bottom and back of the cart and then lifting her into it._

 _"_ _Daniel . . ." Betty squealed, giggling the whole time._

 _"_ _There. Now, you'll have your feet up while we wait," he explained, handing her the video games for Justin and the electric razor he'd gotten for her dad's stocking. He raced them through the store to find the rest of their items, both of them laughing and joking the entire way._

 _As they passed by the jewelry section on their way to the back of the line, Daniel saw Betty's eyes light up._

 _"_ _What – which ones are you looking at?" he asked._

 _"_ _No, we need to get in line before we're here 'til 2AM," Betty brushed it off. "Besides, you'll think they're tacky and I'm stupid for wanting them."_

 _"_ _It's the butterfly earrings – the silver studs with the multi-colored blue diamonds in them?" he assumed looking at the assortment of jewelry._

 _"_ _Yeah," she guilty admitted._

 _"_ _I'm getting them for you," he told her. "And just because they're butterflies doesn't mean they're tacky. They're beautiful – just like my wife, the Butterfly Queen."_

 _"_ _Daniel, it's okay. I'm sure I'll see something later when we go to Macy's. Let's just get in line," Betty told him._

 _"_ _Then I'll get you whatever you see there, too," he insisted, giving her a firm kiss on the lips. "Meantime, I'm gonna go and find somebody."_

 _Fifteen minutes later he was back with a salesperson. And when he saw the look on Betty's face when she viewed them up close, he knew those earrings were the perfect present for her. Obviously, he'd get her plenty of other gifts, too. But those he knew she truly loved. And as they stood in line for at least an hour and a half, they had one of the best times of their lives._

Betty had worn those earrings every day she had on blue. Only she'd left them. Was it accidentally or did it mean something? At least she hadn't left her wedding rings. He was so tired of trying to figure out what was going on with them, why she hadn't told him about Henry. He flipped on a movie and tried to go to sleep.

But sleeping wasn't an option – not without her beside him. Her delicate arms around him, her leg lazily resting between his, the smell of the vanilla shower gel on her skin, the sound of her breathing soft and steady, her occasional mumbling – it was missing. He tossed and turned all night and when he finally got to sleep, the sound of her alarm went off, Salsa music blaring in his ear. It was usually when he'd tease her about it being a dig on his horrible dancing skills and they'd happily wrestle in bed until the last possible minute before getting ready for work. Well, until Scarlett came along. Then things were even better – he had a family of his own. Scarlett would have her breakfast, Daniel would bring Betty theirs, and they would all snuggle in bed until time to get ready. Now he was faced with an empty bed, no child, no wife, and an awkward day at work. Damn that asshole, Grubstick, for ruining their lives.


	21. Chapter 21

_Sorry it's been so long since I've posted a new chapter. It's been a busy few months, but here it is. Enjoy! :) P.S. Just read that America Ferrera said they are having serious conversations about a reunion movie/episodes, but to keep making noise if we want it to happen. So please Tweet, post, etc., as much as you can to make it happen! #HuluBringBackUglyBetty_

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Betty mindlessly straightened up all the paperwork on her desk after a long day at work. It was already 10:30pm. Everyone else had gone home hours ago. She was lucky her father was available to take care of Scarlett.

She couldn't believe Daniel was reacting this way – well she could, but he wasn't the man she married. He was the man she first met – the immature, impulsive, judgmental jackass. How dare he accuse her of sleeping with Henry?! So what if he had been her first love – it didn't mean he was her last. _Daniel_ was . . . that is if she could ever convince that empty head of his to reason with her.

She had just gotten her life back and there he was trying to take it all away from her over a stupid misunderstanding. She loved him with everything in her. Couldn't he see that? Had she not told him enough or shown him enough? It killed her to think he didn't believe her - after all that they had been through together. Didn't he know her better than that? She would _never_ hurt him. She continued to obsess over how to deal with the situation when the door to her office slammed open and startled her out of her thoughts.

"Betty, I can't do this anymore! This is ridiculous. You took our daughter and you won't talk to me. We're married – you can't just run out on me like that! And there's no way in hell I'm letting you leave me and raise our daughter with that -" Daniel barged into the room after hours.

"Damn it, Daniel! Just shut up!" she exclaimed, stopping him from finishing his sentence with a passionate kiss that left him speechless.

Betty was so tired of fighting over nothing. Did he truly believe she'd leave him for Henry?! What the hell was wrong with him?! She was so pissed at him she could scream. But this worked, too. She wanted her husband back – even if he _was_ jumping to conclusions.

She sensed Daniel was hesitating, so she caught his eyes and pulled away long enough to remove his shirt and hers completely, allowing him full access. She placed her hands on his, moving them where she wanted them to go.

He massaged her breasts while concentrating his lips on that same place between her neck and shoulder that drove her crazy. She let out a moan. Her hands ran along his firm biceps and over his pecs and she studied and kissed every inch. When Betty dared to lightly bite his shoulder or flicked his earlobe with her tongue, she caused Daniel to make a similar sound.

His lips made a path down her neck as he backed her onto her desk. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist. The combination between his lips, tongue, and his insanely seductive fingers massaging and working their way along all the right places of her body at the same time almost sent her over the edge. She pulled his head up and met his mouth with hers. Her hands roamed over his firm ass and eventually made their way forward. She instinctively reached for his belt, wanting desperately to feel him inside her. Only Daniel stopped her by placing his hand on hers.

"Betty, we can't do this," Daniel said, his voice raspy and out of breath. "Not when we're still mad -"

"I don't care. I don't want to talk. I need to feel you - _now_. I need this – us without words." she requested.

"Okay," he conceded, proceeding to continue the first of multiple non-verbal conversations, the last of which ended back in their apartment.

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Daniel awoke the next morning feeling both satisfied and uneasy. Normally, sex was sex and it wouldn't matter to him about anything else. But this was Betty – the woman he loved more than words could ever express. He had a family with her, a life. Angry sex was satisfying during the moment, but it didn't resolve their problems. It merely relieved the pent up tension of their days apart. Trust was still the looming issue over their heads and they had to work through it somehow. He couldn't lose her – to anyone, no matter how pissed and betrayed he felt.

"I, uh, I should go to the office. Mom's got a list of potential advertisers for the first issue. She wants me to go over them – you, too, of course. But since ad sales are more my job, I thought I'd get a head start if that's okay?" Daniel said as he attempted to get out of bed.

"Yeah, it's fine. But I think I'm ready to talk now, if you are?" Betty replied.

"Okay," he sat up in bed and stiffened a little.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I should have told you about Henry. I didn't think it was a big deal."

"Oh, that is such bullshit! _Of course it's a big deal!_ Jesus, Betty, you know how I feel about that guy!" he argued.

"Daniel, that was over a year ago. How could you possibly think that there was still anything between us? There wasn't anything between us then either. He wasn't the one I spent all night dancing with until my feet were numb. He wasn't the one I was afraid of hurting when I left. He wasn't the one I held through the night. _You_ were. You and I are _married,_ Daniel – I chose _you._ I love _you,_ " she insisted.

"But you still love _him_ , too! Why else would you jump at the chance to have lunch with him and intentionally not tell me?" he countered.

"Daniel, you're being ridiculous - _I do not still love Henry!_ " Betty told her husband, exasperated. "And I didn't set out to not tell you about our lunch. I didn't get the message until it was too late to tell you. You were in a meeting. What the hell was I supposed to do – interrupt your negotiations with a potential staff photographer and ask your permission? I'm not some freakin' fifties-style wife, Daniel. I'm your partner, your equal."

"Fine. Then I guess you wouldn't mind if say I invited Trista to lunch sometime, hmm?" he threatened.

"You're still intimidated by him!" Betty accused.

"I am not! I could kick his scrawny little ass with both hands tied behind my back," Daniel arrogantly scoffed.

"Yeah, you're not threatened at all . . ." she smirked, annoyed. "Henry's never done anything but be super nice to you, Daniel. You're being a jackass!"

"He has, too! You call trying to steal my wife not doing anything? Or-Or stealing my date to your sister's wedding? And what about all those times he hurt you? Huh? Don't you think that hurt me, too? _I'm the one_ who had to pick up the pieces every time he broke your heart. _I'm the one_ who had to see you cry and know there wasn't a god damn thing I could do about it except be there for you," he retorted.

Betty bowed her head regretfully.

"And you still haven't answered my question about Trista," he reminded her.

Betty sighed.

"That depends. Would it be for a social call to get back at me, or business?" she questioned.

"What does it matter? We're supposed to 'trust each other', right?" he mocked in her high-pitched cheery voice.

"Damn it, Daniel, I'm trying to fix this and all you can do is act like a child!" she snapped.

"No, _you're_ acting like a child!" Daniel argued.

"Okay, we're getting nowhere on this subject. Maybe we both need a timeout," she reasoned.

" _Fine!_ " Daniel huffed, grabbing his clothes and slamming the bathroom door.

" _Fine!_ " he could hear Betty exclaim from outside the door.


End file.
